THE  GIFT  OF 

MAY  TREAT  MORRISON 

IN  MEMORY  OF 

ALEXANDER  F  MORRISON 


lr 


LOUISIANA 

D 

IAID. 


AN  EXPOSITION  OFTME  WORLD 

ITS  PEOPLE  AND  THEIR. 

ACHIEVEMENTS. 


WORLD'S  PROGRESS  PUBLISHING 
SAINT  LOUIS. 


Copyright  1904, 

by 

J.  W.  BUEL, 
St.  Louis. 


LIST   OF    PHOTOGRAVURES. 


VOLUME  I. 

yf  PAGE 

r- 

SCENE  ON  THE  COAST  OF  FLORIDA  ................................     25 

CORONADO  DISCOVERING  THE  MISSOURI  ..........................     86 

A  VISIT  PROM  THE  QUEEN  OF  THE  COFACHIQUI  ....................  175 

Z         A  SCENB  ON  THE  MISSISSIPPI  .....................................  264 

MARQUETTE'S  REDISCOVERY  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI  ..................  360 

I 


I 

u. 
O 

t 

5 


432391 


LIST  OF  MONOGRAVURE  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


VOLUME  I. 

PAGE 

STATUE  OP  PANFILLO  NARVAEZ,  BY  ADAMS 15 

PLATFORM  SUPPORTING  BODY  OF  A  DEAD  CHIEF 21 

A  PUEBLO  HOUSE- VILLAGE 39 

MOKI  PRIESTS  PERFORMING  A  CHANT  SERVICE 53 

MOKI  VILLAGE  DISCOVERED  BY  CORONADO , 67 

TOLTEC  INDIAN  SNAKE  DANCE 77 

VILLAGE  OF  NOMADIC  INDIANS  IN  THE  ARKANSAS  COUNTRY 83 

DE  SOTO'S  EXPEDITION  EMBARKING  FOR  AMERICA 97 

DE  SOTO  RESCUING  ORTIZ  FROM  INDIANS i  '3 

BATTLE  BETWEEN  DE  SOTO  AND  CHIEF  TUSCALUZA 217 

AN  INDIAN  CAMP  ON  THE  ARKANSAS 239 

STATUE  OF  DE  SOTO 243 

DE  SOTO  ON  THE  SHORE  OF  WHITE  RIVER 253 

MOUND  BUILDERS  OF  ARKANSAS 259 

COMANCHE  WOMAN  AND  CHILD 271 

TEMPLE  OF  FIRE-WORSHIPPING  NATCHEZ  INDIANS 297 

MAP  FROM  MARQUETTE'S  JOURNAL,  1681  327 

A  WAR  DANCE  OF  THE  IROQUOIS 335 

AN  ENCAMPMENT  OF  WINNEBAGO  INDIANS 343 

IMPLEMENTS,  TOTEMS,  AND  PICTURE-WRITING  OF  THE  MENOMI- 

NEES 349 

MIAMI,  KICKAPOO  AND  MASCOUTIN  INDIANS 355 

MARQUETTE  ON  THE  WISCONSIN 365 

INTERIOR  OF  THE  CABIN  OF  AN  ILLINOIS  CHIEF 373 

CALUMET  PIPE-DANCE 385 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


A   HISTORY   OF   THE   LOUISIANA  TERRI- 
TORY. 

DIVISION   I. 

I'AGB 

THE  CAUSE  OF  EXPOSITIONAL  CELEBRATION  1904— 
A  story  more  wonderful  than  that  of  the  Argonauts — Expe- 
ditions of  Narvaez  and  De  Vaca — First  explorations  in 
America — In  quest  of  the  City  of  Gold — Starvation  compels 
resort  to  Cannibalism — Return  to  the  Gulf — Narvaez  loses 
his  life — De  Vaca  and  his  companions  enslaved  by  Indians — 
Their  escape — Wanderings  among  the  Pueblos — Customs 
and  condition  of  the  Pueblo  Indians — Return  of  De  Vaca ...  1 1-46 

DIVISION  II. 

THE  SEVEN  CITIES  OF  CIBOLA— 

Legend  of  the  great  gold  fields — Expedition  of  Guzman — 
Shocking  cruelties  to  the  Indians — Coronado  succeeds  Guz- 
man— First  explorations  in  the  Southwest — Conflict  with 
the  Indians  of  New  Mexico — A  terrible  disappointment — 
Invasion  of  the  Kingdoms  of  the  North — Discoveries  made 
by  Alarcon 47~59 

DIVISION  III. 

WONDERFUL  DISCOVERIES  OF  CORONADO— 

Penetrating  the  wilderness  of  the  Southwest — Destruction 
of  an  Indian  town — First  view  of  Colorado  Canon — An  ex- 
pedition to  the  North — Marvels  of  the  country — The  Ameri- 
can Bison — Across  the  plains  of  Kansas — Coronado  discovers 
the  Missouri  River — Taking  possession  of  the  country  in  the 

name  of  Spain 60-87 

I 


CONTENTS 

DIVISION  IV. 

DE  SOTO'S  EXPEDITION  INTO  FLORIDA— 

Early  life  and  exploits  of  the  explorer — Enriched  by  spoils 
from  Peru — Appointed  Governor  of  Cuba — Obtains  a  com- 
mission to  explore  America — Composition  of  the  expedition 
— Departure  for  the  New  World — Landing  in  Florida — A 
sharp  fight  with  Indians — Rescue  of  a  white  captive — His 
thrilling  story  as  a  captive 88-109 

DIVISION   V. 

INDIAN  LIFE  AS  DE  SOTO  FOUND  IT— 

Resumption  of  his  march  through  the  wilderness — Blood- 
hounds loosed  upon  the  Indians — A  story  of  desperate  bat- 
tles and  terrible  privations — Description  of  an  Indian  village 
— Habits  and  domestic  laws  of  the  aborigines — Fortified 
towns — Weapons  and  emblems 1 10-137 

DIVISION  VI. 

INDIAN  CITIES  AND  BATTLES— 

The  fortified  town  of  Vitachuco — Cordial  reception  of  the 
Spaniards — A  dreadful  slaughter  of  the  Indians — A  city  con- 
structed upon  an  artificial  hill — Fighting  their  way  across  a 
swamp — A  great  aboriginal  Confederacy — Battle  with  and 
capture  of  Chief  Capafi — His  escape  by  a  cunning  trick 138-162 

DIVISION  VII. 

RECEPTION  BY  THE  QUEEN  OF  THE  COFACHIQUIANS— 
De  Soto  continues  his  march  northward — Astonishment  at 
the  first  sight  of  horses — Wild  animals  of  the  country — A 
city  on  the  French  Broad  River — De  Soto  is  visited  by  a 
native  Queen — A  people  possessing  great  wealth  and  much 
cultivation — Desecrating  graves  in  quest  of  pearls 163-181 

DIVISION  VIII. 

EXPLOITS  OF  DE  AYLLON— 

His  expedition,  in  1520,  to  make  slaves  of  Florida  Indians- 
Horrible  sufferings  to  which  the  captives  were  subjected — 
Failure  of  the  enterprise — De  Ayllon's  subsequent  expedi- 
tions    182-190 

2 


CONTENTS 
DIVISION  IX. 

PACK 

DEFEAT  OF  BLACK  WARRIOR,    CHIEF  OF  THE  ALA- 

BAMAS— 

De  Soto  leads  his  expedition  towards  the  West — Meeting 
with  Tuscaluza — Arrival  before  the  Indian  town  of  Mauville 
— Description  of  the  place — De  Soto  invited  to  enter  the 
gates — The  Indians  suddenly  attack  the  Spaniards — A  ter- 
rific battle  in  which  De  Soto  lost  heavily — Power  of  the 
natives  broken 191-215 

DIVISION  X. 

DE  SOTO'S  DISASTER  IN  THE  CHICKASAW  COUNTRY— 
News  of  a  fleet  at  Pensacola — His  expedition  suffers  from 
deadly  fevers — Hardships,  losses  and  disappointments  al- 
most destroy  De  Soto's  hopes — A  legend  of  the  Creeks  and 
Choctaws — Shocking  punishments  for  theft — The  Spaniards 
are  surprised  in  the  night — The  Indians  are  repulsed  by  De 
Soto,  who  sustains  great  loss — Storming  the  palisaded  village 
of  Alibamo — Slaughter  of  the  inhabitants 218-229 

DIVISION  XI. 

DE  SOTO  DISCOVERS  THE  MISSISSIPPI    RIVER— 

Disputes  about  the  place  of  Discovery — Building  boats  to 
cross  the  great  stream — A  visit  from  an  Arkansas  cacique — 
Friendly  overtures  rejected  by  the  Spaniards — Discoveries 
in  the  Arkansas  country — De  Soto  shows  a  cacique  how  to 
produce  rain — Among  the  Mound  Builders — Ruins  of  an 
ancient  city — Minerals  and  productions  of  the  country — 
Arrival  at  the  Hot  Springs  of  Arkansas — On  the  head  waters 
of  the  Ouichata — A  succession  of  battles 230-252 

DIVISION  XII. 

DEATH  OF  DE  SOTO— 

Death  of  Ortiz  the  interpreter — Hardships  of  the  expedition 
increase — Discouragements  of  the  Spaniards  prompt  a 
change  of  plans — Return  march  to  the  Mississippi — Menaced 
by  the  Natchez  Indians — De  Soto's  courage  forsakes  him — 
Dying,  his  body  is  secretly  committed  to  the  Mississippi — 
Reflections  upon  the  character  of  De  Soto — The  age  of  which 
he  was  a  product 255-266 

3 


CONTENTS 
DIVISION   XIII. 

PACK 

EXPLORATIONS  OF  LUIS  ALVARADO  DE  MOSCOSO— 
The  expedition  abandons  the  idea  of  returning  to  Spain — 
Moscoso  leads  the  Spaniards  west  again — Discovery  of  Red 
River — Renewing  the  search  for  gold — The  march  from  the 
Mississippi  to  the  Rocky  Mountains — Meeting  with  the 
Buffalo  Hunters — Remarkable  feats  of  the  Pawnees — Le- 
gends of  the  Comanches — The  expedition  in  a  sore  dilemma 
— Resolution  to  return  again  to  the  Mississippi— Dreadful 
sufferings  of  the  Spaniards — Given  shelter  by  pitying  In- 
dians— The  Mississippi  is  reached — Brigantines  built  to 
convey  the  remnant  of  the  expedition — Opposed  by  a  great 
fleet  of  canoes — A  fight  on  the  river — Several  Spaniards 
captured  by  the  Indians — Moscoso  finally  reaches  the  sea — 
His  subsequent  fortunes 267-288 

DIVISION  XIV. 

CONDITIONS  IN  THE  MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY  PRECED- 
ING THE  FRENCH  OCCUPATION— 
De  Soto's  exploits  forgotten  for  a  century — Expedition  by 
de  Luna  for  the  conquest  of  Florida — Failure  of  de  Luna's 
efforts — Passing  of  the  great  Indian  confederacies — The  most 
remarkable  Indians  on  the  continent — Story  of  the  Natchez 
Nation — Their  traditions  and  Religion — Sun  worship  and 
Sabianism — Votan  the  demi-god — Sanguinary  customs  and 
sacrifices 289-305 

DIVISION  XV. 

FRENCH  EXPLORATIONS    IN  THE    MISSISSIPPI  VAL- 
LEY— 

Martyrdom  of  early  Jesuit  missionaries — Explorations  of 
Jean  Nicollet — Ambition  to  reach  the  South  Sea — Captivity 
and  enslavement  of  missionaries — Attack  upon  the  post  of 
St.  Louis — Horrible  tortures  inflicted  by  the  Indians — De- 
struction of  the  Huron  nation — Death  of  Father  Menard — 
Rumors  of  the  Great  River 306-317 

4 


CONTENTS 
DIVISION  XVI. 

PACK 

EXPLORATIONS  OF  MARQUETTE  AND  JOLIET— 

Founding  a  mission  among  the  Illinois  Indians — Invasion 
of  the  Sioux — Father  Dablou's  account  of  the  Mississippi — 
Seeking  a  water  route  to  the  sea — Belief  that  the  Mississippi 
emptied  into  the  Gulf  of  California — A  sketch  of  Joliet — 
Marquette  beloved  by  the  Indians — Queer  ideas  of  conver- 
sion— Influence  of  Christian  teachings — Beliefs  and  customs 
of  the  northern  tribes — Medicine  and  surgery  treatments. . .  318-339 

DIVISION  XVII. 

THE  DEPARTURE  FROM   MACKINAW— 

Preparations  for  the  long  journey  of  exploration — Interest- 
ing observations  regarding  Indian  life — Attempt  to  dissuade 
Marquette  from  his  purpose — Phenomena  noticeable  in 
Green  Bay — A  vegetable  antidote  for  serpent  poison — Some- 
thing about  the  Kickapoos  and  Miamis — Marquette  in  coun- 
cil with  the  Miamis — Description  of  the  Wisconsin — First 
view  of  the  Mississippi — Strange  animals  met  with — Dis- 
covery of  the  Des  Moines  River — Civilly  received  by  Indians 
— Mutilation  as  a  punishment  for  infidelity — The  calumet, 
or  peace  pipe — The  calumet  dance 340-388 

DIVISION  XVIII. 

CONTINUING  THE  JOURNEY  DOWN  THE  MISSISSIPPI— 
The  painted  rocks  of  Piasa  Bluffs — Legends  of  the  Piasa — 
Discovery  of  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri — Arrival  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Ohio — An  Indian  tribe  armed  with  guns  and 
metal  axes — An  excursion  of  the  Iroquois — A  pest  of  Caro- 
lina parrots — Marquette  splendidly  entertained  by  Arkansas 
Indians— In  the  land  of  Watermelons — Origin  of  that  deli- 
cious fruit — Marquette  is  persuaded  to  abandon  his  purpose 
to  reach  the  sea — He  returns  north — Enters  the  Illinois 
River  and  proceeds  thence  to  Lake  Michigan — Success  of 
the  expedition 389-407 


OFFICE  Or  THE   SECRETARY 


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•/Ml     "G&W. 


ADMINISTRATION  BUILDING 


INTRODUCTION 


33.    STEVENS 

SHORKrrAKY     LOUISIANA    PURCHASE     BIXFOSITIOHT. 


'OUISIANA  AND  THE  FAIR!      The  history 

of  the  greatest  peaceable  acquisition  of  terri- 
r 
tory  the  world  has  known!     The  description 

of  the  Universal  Exposition  of  1904,  in  com- 
parison with  which  all  previous  World's  Fairs 
are  dwarfed !  Inspiration  is  in  the  mere  men- 
tion of  these  combined  subjects.  Not  poverty, 
but  wealth  of  material  embarrasses. 

From  the  day  the  discoverers  kneeled  on 
the  sand  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  and 
raised  the  cross,  token  of  possession  in  the  name 
of  their  king,  the  Province  of  Louisiana  became  a 
land  of  romance  and  adventure.  It  has  known  three 
flags.  It  was  coveted  by  a  fourth.  It  has  acknowledged  the 
authority  of  a  King,  a  First  Consul,  and  a  President.  It 


8 

made,  by  the  stroke  of  .the  pen,  the  area  of  the  United  States 
more  'than  twite  that  tonich  Great  Britain  recognized  as  in- 
dependent.- ,-T-he«  history 'is  from  a  colonial  province  of  a 
Mdrtdrthy*  to' twelve 'Sovereign  states  and  two  great  territories 
of  a  Republic. 

The  Universal  Exposition  of  1904  commemorates  the  cen- 
tennial of  this  acquisition,  which  transformed  the  United 
States  from  a  struggling  group  of  colonies  into  a  nation  of  first 
rank.  It  records  the  progress  of  the  world.  It  marks  espe- 
cially the  advancement  of  this  among  other  nations. 

The  World's  Columbian  Exposition  of  ten  years  ago  occu- 
pied 650  acres  of  ground,  had  82  acres  under  roof,  and  cost 
more  than  $20,000,000.  Seventeen  years  before  was  held  the 
Centennial  Exposition  at  Philadelphia.  Great  progress  was 
indicated  by  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition  in  compari- 
son with  the  Centennial  Exposition.  Greater  progress  char- 
acterizes the  comparison  with  the  Universal  Exposition  of 
1904. 

Responses  from  foreign  nations  and  colonies,  from  states, 
territories  and  islands  oi  the  United  States,  were  beyond  ex- 
pectation. Exhibits,  buildings  and  expenditures  are  upon  a 
scale  beyond  precedent.  The  site  of  the  World's  Fair  grew 
by  the  acquisition  of  tract  after  tract  until  there  were  included 
within  the  walls  1,240  acres.  The  grounds  are  a  mile  and 
three-quarters  in  length  by  a  mile  and  one-quarter  in  width. 
Structure  after  structure  was  added  to  the  original  plan  until 
the  roofs  and  exhibit  palaces  cover  128  acres,  50  per  cent,  more 
than  the  same  class  of  construction  at  Chicago. 

There  are  features  about  the  foreign  and  domestic  participa- 
tion which  illustrate  forcibly  the  increased  importance  of  this 


9 

nation,  as  shown  by  this  Exposition.  China,  for  the  first 
time,  is  present  officially  at  a  World's  Fair.  Beside  China's 
quaint  palace  is  the  World's  Fair  capitol  of  a  nation  that  was 
not  born  when  the  World's  Columbian  Exposition  was  held — 
Cuba. 

Included  in  the  representation  of  the  United  States  are 
Hawaii  and  Porto  Rico,  both  of  them  alien  when  the  World's 
Fair  was  held  at  Chicago.  Alaska,  Oklahoma  and  Indian 
Territory  make  their  debuts  in  formal  presence  at  an  Exposi- 
tion. The  Philippines  exhibit,  another  new  feature,  is  an  ex- 
position in  itself,  occupying  a  reservation  of  nearly  forty  acres 
and  having  a  dozen  exhibit  buildings  of  characteristc  archi- 
tecture, housing  70, 000  exhibits  of  the  Archipelago's  resources 
and  development. 

The  exhibits  themselves  tell  impressively  of  the  world's 
gain  since  the  Exposition  held  in  1893.  Wireless  telegraphy, 
wireless  telephony,  speech  conveyed  by  rays  of  light,  automo- 
bile contests,  are  some  of  the  new  ideas  presented  in  practical 
form.  Airships  contest  for  the  prize  of  $100,000.  Athletic 
sports  are  stimulated  by  trophies  and  prizes  aggregating  $150,- 
000.  These  include  the  Olympic  Games,  for  the  first  time 
seen  upon  the  western  hemisphere.  lyive  stock  competition 
is  conducted  for  premiums  aggregating  $250,000,  nearly  twice 
the  sum  similarly  expended  at  Chicago.  The  largest  organ 
ever  built  occupies  the  space  of  a  three-story  building  in  the 
great  Festival  Hall  auditorium.  A  gas  engine  developing 
3,000  horsepower  and  a  turbine  creating  8,000  horsepower 
show  the  mighty  advancement  in  prime  movers. 

Outdoor  exhibits  are  unprecedented.  The  Gulch  is  a  great 
ravine*  occupied  from  end  to  end  with  the  processes  of  Mines 


10 

and  Metallurgy  too  noisy  or  too  noisome  for  indoor  exhibi- 
tion. Thousands  of  varieties  of  roses  bloom  in  a  garden  of 
ten  acres  in  front  of  the  Palace  of  Horticulture.  Growing 
small  fruits  of  various  kinds  cover  four  acres.  The  great  floral 
clock  has  a  dial  one  hundred  feet  across,  with  a  minute  hand 
weighing  2,400  pounds.  Forestry  exhibits  cover  fourteen 
acres.  A  map  of  the  United  States,  with  growing  crops  to 
designate  the  states,  is  spread  upon  six  acres  of  slope.  A 
bird-cage  300  feet  long  encloses  well-grown  trees  as  well  as 
lawn  and  rocks. 

This  Exposition,  typical  of  the  twentieth  century,  abounds 
in  motion.  Throughout  the  exhibit  palaces  the  products  of 
scores  of  mechanical  appliances  are  presented  with  actual 
processes. 

The  life  of  the  World's  Fair  of  1904  is  its  strongest  claim  to 
distinction.  Speakers  of  one  hundred  tongues  mingle  on  the 
polyglot  Pike;  races,  nations,  and  tribes,  ranging  from  the 
most  enlightened  to  the  benighted,  are  included  in  the  assem- 
blage. Among  these  peoples  gather  the  thinkers  of  the  na- 
tions which  have  made  most  progress.  A  World's  University 
is  in  operation,  and  an  International  Congress  of  Arts  and 
Sciences  is  convened.  The  Exposition  is  truly  universal  in 
its  activities,  human  as  well  as  mechanical. 


LOUISIANA  TERRITORY. 


DIVISION  I. 

Discovery,  Exploration,  Conquest  and  Settlement. 


TEN  years  ago  Americans  were  celebrating,  with  exposi- 
tional  display  and  national  jubilation,  the  quadricentennial 
of  the  Columbian  discovery,  an  event  of  incomputable  im- 
portance, but  not  more  so  to  us  than  it  was  mighty  in  its 
consequence  to  the  world.  Four  hundred  years  is  a  short 
time  in  the  computation  of  the  ages,  and  yet  it  is  only  half 
that  length  of  time  since  the  first  permanent  English  settle- 
ment was  made  on  this  continent,  and  but  little  more  than 
one  hundred  years  since  the  founding  of  the  Republic.  In- 
deed, it  is  possible  that  there  may  be  living  at  this  time  one 
or  more  persons,  specially  blessed  with  longevity,  who  were 
born  before  the  achievement  of  our  national  independence 
was  fully  accomplished.  The  perspective  is  not  so  great 
that  we  may  regard  the  picture  like  a  fading  example  of  an 
old  master,  for  the  colors  are  still  fresh,  and  we  behold  our- 
selves in  the  foreground  only  a  little  removed  from  the 
activities  that  wrought  a  constitutional  government  out  of 

the  fabric  of  a  new  world. 

n 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

The  Columbian  Exposition  celebrated  an  anniversary  of 
discovery;  the  birth,  so  to  speak,  of  a  continent.  In  the 
year  1904  the  nation  honors,  with  joyous  ceremonial  and 
exhibitional  display,  the  centennial  birthday  of  the  Republic's 
adolescence.  A  hundred  years  ago  the  United  States  com- 
prehended a  territory  whose  western  boundary  was  the  Mis- 
sissippi river,  and  whose  strength  was  confined  to  that  sec- 
tion which  lay  east  of  the  Alleghenies,  comprising  the  fol- 
lowing seventeen  States:  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  Dela- 
ware, New  York,  Connecticut,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont, 
Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Maryland,  Georgia,  South 
Carolina,  Virginia,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  North  Carolina, 
and  Ohio  (1802),  the  total  area  of  which  was  445,208 
square  miles,  with  a  population  of  about  5,000,000.  From 
this  beginning  in  1800  our  nation  has  grown  to  include  44 
States,  and  five  Territories,  with  a  total  area,  exclusive  of 
our  island  possessions,  of  3,607,  604  square  miles  (2,308,- 
866,560  acres)  and  a  population  of  80,000,000.  By  adding 
our  new  acquisitions  our  area  is  enlarged  161,000  square 
miles  and  our  population  increased  10,000,000  souls.  This 
amazing  growth  has  been  at  no  expense  of  homogeneity, 
notwithstanding  much  of  it  is  due  to  immigration,  for  we 
have  assimilated  all  accessions  in  a  way  scarcely  more  as- 
tonishing to  foreign  nations  than  to  ourselves,  a  fact  which 
proves,  better  than  anything  else,  that  America  has  been  a 
true  asylum  to  the  oppressed,  who,  fleeing  from  their  native 
lands  because  of  the  tyranny  of  their  rulers,  have  found  here 

12 


DISCOVERY,  EXPLORATION  AND  SETTLEMENT 

not  only  freedom,  but  largest  opportunity  for  the  exercise 
of  their  talents  and  the  enjoyment  of  the  fruits  of  their 
industry. 

Few  successes  are  achieved  or  great  things  accomplished 
without  passing  through  the  valley  of  tribulation,  beyond 
which  the  goal  of  real  triumph  lies.  The  achievements  of 
a  nation  represent  the  united  efforts  of  the  individuals  that 
compose  it;  so  we  may  congratulate  ourselves  that  our  na- 
tion being  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  earth,  is  not  so  merely 
through  fortuitous  conditions,  but  is  the  result  of  persist- 
ence, and  the  indomitable  courage  that  thrives  best  on  oppo- 
sition, whether  it  be  the  rank  exuberance  of  nature,  or  the 
forces  and  power  of  hostile  leagues,  and  it  is  for  this  reason 
the  history  of  America  is  more  thrilling  than  a  drama,  and 
more  charming  than  a  romance.  If  the  story  of  discovery, 
conquest,  and  settlement  of  New  England,  replete  as  it  is 
with  harrowing  incidents  and  pathetic  episodes,  enthralls 
our  attention,  let  it  not  be  supposed  that  reclamation  of  the 
west  affords  a  tale  less  fascinating  or  tragic.  While  de- 
tracting nothing  from  the  former,  it  is  not  gilding  truth  to 
say  that  the  exploration  and  winning  of  that  territory  em- 
braced by  what  is  known  as  the  Louisiana  Purchase  fur- 
nishes the  historian  with  a  subject  that  may  well  claim  the 
best  effort  of  his  pen ;  that  inspires  him  to  move  the  human 
heart  with  all  the  emotions  of  which  it  is  susceptible. 

During  the  year  1538  the  eyes  of  all  Spain  were  directed 
toward  what  is  now  familiarly  known  as  the  Mississippi 

13 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

Valley,  by  a  series  of  incidents  of  a  very  wonderful  and 
interesting  character.  A  Spanish  adventurer  named  Alvar 
Nunez  Cabeza  de  Vaca,  after  an  absence  of  ten  years  in  the 
then  unknown  regions  lying  to  the  north  and  northwestward 
of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  had  reappeared  in  his  native  coun- 
try as  suddenly  as  one  dropping  from  the  thither  land. 
However  unexpected  his  return  may  have  been,  he  had 
many  things  of  a  very  startling  character  to  relate  concern- 
ing the  marvelous  adventures  which  he  and  three  compan- 
ions had  encountered  in  a  far-off,  mysterious  country. 
They  were  the  only  survivors  of  the  ill-fated  expedition  of 
Panfilo  de  Narvaez,  which  penetrated  Florida  in  1528;  and 
who,  after  escaping  shipwreck  and  other  dangers  of  field  and 
flood  to  which  they  were  exposed,  spent  nearly  the  tenth 
part  of  a  century  in  wandering  through  a  wilderness  in- 
habited only  by  wild  beasts  of  the  forest,  and  a  few  tribes 
of  savages  who  had  not  previously  seen  the  faces  of  white 
men. 

But  in  order  to  get  a  clear  understanding  of  the  adven- 
tures of  de  Vaca  and  his  comrades,  it  will  be  necessary  to 
briefly  relate  the  leading  incidents  of  the  expedition  of 
Narvaez. 

This  man,  a  person  of  no  particular  reputation,  was 
twenty-two  years  of  age  when  Columbus  sailed  westward 
in  quest  of  India,  and  found  the  continent  of  America. 
Being  a  native  of  Valladolid,  where  the  great  navigator  died 
in  1506,  Narvaez  quite  naturally  imbibed  a  good  deal  of  the 

14 


NARVAEZ,  EARLY  EXPLORER  OF  FLORIDA, 

JfVANFiLLO  DE  \ARVAEZ,  of  Valladolid,  Spain,  was  sent  by  Valasquez,  Governor 
H*^  of  Cuba,  in  1520,  to  arrest  Cortez,  who  at  the  time  was  engaged  in  the  con- 
quest of  Mexico,  but  in  a  battle  with  Cortez  on  the  coast  of  Mexico  he  was  defeated . 
After  being  held  prisoner  for  a  time  he  was  released  and  returned  to  Spain  where 
he  organized  an  expedition  with  De  Vaca  in  1528,  to  explore  Florida.  With  400 
men  he  landed  on  the  coast  of  Florida,  and  proceeded  through  the  country  west- 
ward towards  the  Mississippi,  meeting  with  many  hardships,  and  losing  so  many 
men,  in  fights  with  the  Indians,  that  he  built  boats  in  \vhich  to  make  his  escape 
from  the  perils  that  beset  him.  The  boat  in  which  Narvaez  embarked, was  over- 
taken by  a  storm  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  and  destroyed,  in  which  accident 
the  explorer  and  all  who  were  with  him  lost  their  lives. 


Vatfey,  by  *  «,  iderful  and 

.u-ued  AJvar 
:  of  ten  years  in  the 

rhwestward 

of  t3 

/  things  of  a  v« 

J"g 

/,,'.  -,v  SVA5^^^:. 


-in'W     •f:biio!'iJ  dioL 

.'IT'  rfWKO-f 

^<} 
?^E3|3  aid,  aJfirti  oj  rf^iH/, 


DISCOVERY,  EXPLORATION  AND  SETTLEMENT 

interest  and  excitement  which  were  so  prevalent  in  Spain 
at  that  time  concerning  the  New  World;  and  some  years 
later,  in  1512,  we  find  him  second  in  command  in  Cuba, 
under  Diego  Velasquez.  There  he  participated  with  pe- 
culiar bloodthirstiness  in  that  war  of  extermination  which 
soon  transformed  a  populous  island  into  an  uninhabited 
waste,  and  forced  the  Spanish  authorities  to  apply  to  the 
Emperor  for  "  seven  thousand  negroes,  in  order  that  they 
might  become  inured  to  labor  before  the  Indians  ceased  to 
exist." 

Velasquez,  well  pleased  with  the  manner  in  which  Nar- 
vaez  had  performed  his  part  of  the  sanguinary  task,  sent 
him  to  Spain  in  1516,  to  intercede  with  the  Emperor  for 
larger  concessions  of  power.  He  quickly  returned,  bring- 
ing with  him  a  commission  for  his  superior  as  governor- 
general  of  Cuba,  an  office  which  carried  with  it  authority 
to  subdue  and  govern  all  of  the  adjacent  continent. 

Inflated  with  his  new  honors,  and  having  taken  umbrage 
at  Cortez,  at  that  time  the  ruling  spirit  in  Mexico,  for  de- 
clining to  obey  his  orders,  Velasquez,  in  1520,  despatched 
Narvaez  with  a  fleet  and  a  considerable  body  of  troops  to 
bring  the  conqueror  of  the  Aztecs  to  terms.  The  ships 
reached  Vera  Cruz  on  the  23d  of  April,  where,  landing  his 
forces,  Narvaez  advanced  to  a  place  called  Cempoala  and 
threw  up  entrenchments.  There  he  awaited  developments. 
These  soon  came;  for  thither  marched  Cortez  to  meet  him, 
and  on  his  arrival  he  offered  to  enter  into  friendly  negotia- 

17 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

tions;  but  Narvaez  declined  his  overtures  and  invited  him 
to  battle.  This  proved  to  be  a  rash  act,  for  his  men,  en- 
amored with  the  reputation  of  the  hero  of  Mexico,  were 
ready  to  desert  at  the  first  favorable  opportunity.  Cortez, 
without  waiting  for  a  second  invitation,  marshalled  his 
forces  and  made  a  furious  assault  on  the  works  of  his  en- 
emy; whereupon,  the  greater  part  of  the  garrison  deserted, 
and  Narvaez  himself  was  captured,  with  the  loss  of  an  eye. 
"  Esteem  it  great  good  fortune,"  he  said  to  the  conqueror, 
"  that  you  have  taken  me  captive."  "  It  is  the  least  of  the 
things  I  have  done  in  Mexico,"  retorted  the  contemptuous 
Cortez. 

During  his  campaigns  in  Cuba  Narvaez  had  acquired  con- 
siderable wealth,  by  appropriating  the  possessions  of  his 
victims  and  selling  hordes  of  savages  into  slavery;  and  he 
now  brought  his  resources  to  bear  in  such  a  manner  that 
after  a  brief  imprisonment  at  Vera  Cruz  he  was  released  and 
sent  to  Spain. 

There  his  arts  of  intrigue  and  flattery,  coupled  with  a 
lavish  display  of  gold,  secured  for  him  the  government  of 
Florida ;  and  resolving  to  hazard  everything  in  the  conquest 
of  his  province,  he  began  his  preparations  on  a  scale  of 
magnificence  that  commanded  the  attention  of  the  best  blood 
of  the  peninsula.  The  flower  of  the  youthful  chivalry  of 
Spain  flocked  to  his  standard.  Side  by  side  came  the  sons 
of  Castilian  noblemen,  of  merchants  who  had  grown  wealthy 

in  the  profitable  commerce  of  the  period,  and  reckless  ad- 

18 


DISCOVERY,  EXPLORATION  AND  SETTLEMENT 

venturers  trained  in  previous  expeditions  to  endure  the  hard- 
ships of  the  present  service. 

Among  others  who  enlisted  with  Narvaez  was  the  young 
man,  Cabeza  de  Vaca,  already  mentioned.  He  was  then  not 
quite  twenty  years  of  age,  a  scion  of  one  of  the  proud  fam- 
ilies of  Andalusia,  and  rilled  with  that  spirit  of  adventure 
which  permeated  the  whole  Spanish  population  of  that  era. 
Fate  seemed  to  have  marked  him  from  the  beginning  as 
the  only  member  of  the  expedition  destined  to  win  enduring 
fame. 

Much  time  was  consumed  in  preparation,  for  men  moved 
slowly  in  those  days.  It  was -the  2Qth  of  June,  1527,  be- 
fore the  sails  were  hoisted  and  the  clumsy  ships  swung  lazily 
away  from  their  moorings.  There  were  five  vessels  in  the 
fleet,  carrying  about  six  hundred  persons,  besides  horses, 
pigs,  cows  and  goats.  We  laugh  now  at  such  outfitting  for 
an  exploring  expedition,  but  when  those  Spanish  adven- 
turers went  forth  to  discover  new  countries  and  save  the 
souls  of  the  heathen,  they  believed  in  enjoying  the  comforts 
of  life.  A  number  of  mechanics  and  laborers  had  been  in- 
duced to  become  members  of  the  company,  while  others 
were  impressed  into  the  service;  and  the  religious  welfare 
of  the  people  was  looked  after  by  several  priests  and  five 
Franciscan  friars,  all  under  the  direction  of  Father  John 
Xuarez.  The  religious  contingent  was  expected  to  have 
special  charge  of  the  conversion  of  the  savages,  or  to  pre- 
pare them  for  their  fate  in  case  they  persisted  in  their  heresy. 

19 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

The  ships  proved  themselves  such  inferior  sailors  that 
they  were  nearly  six  months  in  laboring  their  painful  way 
across  the  sea.  It  was  a  weary  and  long-drawn-out  voyage. 
Winter  was  well  advanced  before  the  fleet  arrived  off  the 
coast  of  Cuba,  where  it  was  caught  by  one  of  those  fright- 
ful convulsions  of  nature  which  periodically  rend  the  tropics, 
and  one  of  the  vessels  went  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea  with 
all  on  board.  The  other  four,  crippled,  torn  and  storm- 
ridden,  eventually  made  their  way  into  the  harbor  at  Ha- 
vana. There  they  lay  until  March,  1528,  all  this  time  being 
required  to  repair  and  refit  the  ships  and  render  them  once 
more  seaworthy. 

The  lost  vessel  was  replaced  by  a  piratical  brigantine 
which  happened  to  be  wintering  at  Havana;  and,  finally, 
about  the  middle  of  the  month,  the  fleet  passed  out  into 
the  Gulf  with  its  prows  pointed  toward  the  continent.  The 
strength  of  the  force  had  by  this  time  been  reduced  to  about 
four  hundred  men  and  eighty  horses,  but  there  were  no  signs 
of  waning  courage  or  lack  of  purpose  on  the  part  of  the 
adventurers. 

After  buffeting  the  currents  of  the  Gulf  Stream  for  nearly 
a  month,  the  ships  put  into  a  large  estuary  which  has  since 
been  identified  as  Tampa  Bay;  and  effecting  a  landing  near 
the  head  of  that  spacious  harbor,  the  men  were  at  once  pre- 
pared for  their  inland  march.  It  was  now  about  Easter- 
tide, and  the  green  foliage  and  balmy  breezes  of  the  south 
country  inspired  the  explorers  with  fresh  hopes.  They  con- 

20 


PLATFORM  SUPPORTING  TtODY  OF  A  7)EAD  CHIEF. 

E  custom  has  long  obtained  among  many  tribes  of  Indians  of  depositing  the 
bodies  of  their  dead  upon  platforms  raised  ten  or  twelve  feet  above  the  earth, 
to  keep  them  out  of  reach  of  wolves  and  other  wild  animals.  DeSoto  found 
numerous  cemeteries  of  this  kind  throughout  the  whole  extent  of  his  wanderings 
in  the  south,  and  in  several  instances  discovery  was  made  of  the  bodies  of  chiefs 
that  had  been  so  prepared  as  to  arrest  decay,  leaving  them  mummified  after  years 
of  exposure. 


'A  Tl- 


iabo> 


V, 


•    .  . 

;!i  ! 


• 


DISCOVERY,  EXPLORATION  AND  SETTLEMENT 

fidently  expected  an  early  approach  to  populous  towns  and 
cities,  where  they  would  find  stores  of  gold  rivaling  those 
which  had  made  Mexico  seem  like  a  land  of  enchantment. 
But  their  expectations  were  never  realized.  The  first  in- 
habited place  they  came  to  was  an  Indian  village  composed 
of  a  few  miserable  huts  of  twigs  and  palm  leaves,  where 
neither  food  nor  gold,  nor  anything  else  of  value  was  to 
be  found.  Several  dried  and  mummified  bodies  of  dead 
chiefs,  or  noted  men,  were  seen  on  platforms  of  poles  in  the 
edge  of  the  village;  whereupon  the  pious  Spaniards,  choos- 
ing to  regard  these  as  evidences  of  idolatry,  kindled  fires 
beneath  and  burnt  them.  Hardly  any  other  act  could  have 
aroused  the  distrust  and  resentment  of  the  savages  to  a 
greater  degree,  for  in  their  minds  the  relics  of  their  dead 
were  endowed  with  a  peculiar  sanctity. 

Cabeza  de  Vaca,  who  had  been  chosen  treasurer  of  the  ex- 
pedition, and  possessing  an  education  above  the  average  of 
his  companions,  voluntarily  assumed  the  additional  duties  of 
historian  and  chronicler.  His  influence  was  naturally  of  a 
superior  character,  and  finding  his  chief  bent  on  the  mad 
project  of  plunging  into  the  trackless  forest,  he  protested 
vigorously  against  a  plan  so  fraught  with  danger.  "  If  you 
leave  the  coast,"  he  said  to  Narvaez,  "  you  will  never  more 
find  the  ships,  nor  the  ships  you."  His  warning  proved 
a  prophecy,  but  his  leader,  blinded  by  visions  of  gold,  re- 
fused to  listen  either  to  counsel  or  expostulation;  and  de 
Vaca,  dreading  the  imputation  of  cowardice,  followed  the 

23 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

lead  of  his  captain,  though  he  felt  assured  it  meant  almost 
certain  destruction  for  him  as  well  as  the  rest  of  the  com- 
pany. 

Three  hundred  picked  men  had  been  selected  for  the  ex- 
pedition, forty  of  whom  were  mounted ;  the  remainder  being 
left  as  a  guard  for  the  ships.  Each  man  of  the  marching 
force  was  supplied  with  two  pounds  of  biscuit  and  half  a 
pound  of  bacon,  with  which  slender  stock  of  provisions  they 
plunged  into  the  depths  of  the  gloomy  forest  of  palms  and 
palmettos  that  lay  before  them. 

Whatever  we  may  think  of  the  morals  of  the  Spanish 
explorers  of  America,  it  cannot  be  said  that  they  lacked 
courage.  Every  step  of  the  way  was  beset  with  peril. 
Hideous  saurians  infested  the  swamps  which  they  were 
bound  to  traverse;  poisonous  serpents  lay  coiled  in  the  path 
of  the  marching  column;  ferocious  wild  beasts  made  the 
woods  resound  with  their  shrieks  and  howlings  at  night; 
myriads  of  insects  of  strange  species  inflicted  irritating 
wounds,  and  so  disturbed  the  slumbers  of  the  explorers  that 
they  soon  became  worn  and  haggard  with  fatigue.  Im- 
penetrable swamps  and  treacherous  bogs  and  quicksands  ob- 
structed their  course,  so  that  the  men  were  compelled  to 
be  constantly  on  their  guard  lest  the  weight  of  their  armor 
should  carry  them  down  to  destruction.  But  there  were 
other  dangers  even  greater  than  these.  Their  unprovoked 
violence  in  burning  the  bodies  of  the  chiefs  had  so  incensed 
the  savage  inhabitants  that  they  assembled  in  large  num- 

24 


SCEME  ON  THE  COAST  OF  FLORIDA. 

*ftYo  other  part  of  our  country  possesses  so  much  interest,  so  far  as  history  of  the 
•  »  earliest  discovery  and  settlement  is  concerned,  as  does  Florida.  It  was  to 
Florida  that  Ponce  de  Leon,  an  associate  of  Columbus  on  his  second  voyage,  di- 
rected his  quest  for  the  mythical  Fountain  of  Youth  in  1512.  To  this  same  land 
Narvaez  came  in  1528  in  a  search  for  gold,  followed  soon  after  by  DeSoto  on  a 
similar  errand,  and  thereafter  by  many  other  adventurers  whose  expeditions,  in 
almost  all  cases,  landed  at  Tampa  Bay,  the  spot  admirably  shown  in  the  photo- 
gravure printed  on  the  opposite  page. 


-ib: 
bnc 

ni 
-otc 


DISCOVERY,  EXPLORATION  AND  SETTLEMENT 

bers,  and  forming  numerous  ambuscades  along  the  route  of 
the  marching  column,  at  unexpected  moments  sent  clouds 
of  arrows  into  the  midst  of  the  invaders.  It  is  true  that 
most  of  the  darts,  striking  the  polished  armor  of  the  Span- 
iards, glanced  harmlessly  aside;  but  some,  penetrating  vul- 
nerable places,  inflicted  painful  and  even  fatal  wounds. 

But  as  they  advanced  day  by  day  deeper  into  the  woods, 
their  admiration  was  excited  by  the  stateliness  of  the  trees, 
the  gorgeous  coloring  of  the  flowers,  and  the  brilliant  plu- 
mage of  the  tropical  birds.  Their  surprise  found  expression 
in  exclamations  of  wonder  and  delight  at  these  strangely 
beautiful  things.  Nature  had  clothed  herself  with  a  splen- 
dor of  decoration  surpassing  anything  that  the  Spaniards 
had  ever  previously  seen. 

Their  course  lay  first  northward,  thence  westward,  and 
as  they  began  to  penetrate  the  highland  regions,  the  scenery 
assumed  a  different  and  more  diversified  aspect.  The  trop- 
ical exuberance  gradually  disappeared,  and  in  its  place  they 
found  open  forests  of  gigantic  oak,  walnut,  and  hickory 
trees.  Streams  of  cold  water  rushed  down  from  the  hills, 
and  breaking  into  foam  and  mist  over  numerous  waterfalls 
and  cataracts,  reflected  all  the  tints  and  colors  of  the  rain- 
bow. The  explorers  were  lost  in  admiration  of  the  won- 
derful beauty  of  the  country,  and  the  richness  of  the  scenery 
which  lay  spread  out  so  lavishly  on  every  hand. 

But  matters  of  a  more  serious  nature  began  to  press  upon 
them.  Their  supply  of  food  was  almost  exhausted,  and 

25 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

certain  starvation  seemed  staring  them  in  the  face.  By  add- 
ing roots  and  berries  and  the  fruit  of  the  palmetto  to  their 
slender  rations,  the  men  had  contrived  to  live  through  the 
first  fifteen  days,  but  now  nearly  everything  in  the  shape 
of  food  had  been  consumed.  Still,  their  courage  was  sus- 
tained by  reports  of  prisoners  whom  they  captured  on  the 
way,  who  assured  them  that  in  a  distant  region  called  Ap- 
palachen  there  were  abundant  stores  of  gold.  It  is  probable 
that  the  Indians  did  not  understand  what  the  Spaniards 
meant,  for  that  was  not  a  gold-bearing  country,  and  we  may 
reasonably  suppose  that  they  had  never  seen  a  piece  of  the 
yellow  metal  which  had  so  great  a  fascination  for  the  white 
men.  Still  the  wily  natives  lured  them  on  with  stories, 
promises  and  assurances;  hoping,  doubtless,  to  so  entangle 
them  in  the  wilderness  that  escape  would  be  impossible. 

In  some  of  the  aboriginal  tongues  the  word  Appalache 
meant  endless.  It  was  applied  in  this  connection  to  that 
splendid  range  of  mountains  which,  rising  in  southeastern 
Canada,  sweeps  gradually  through  the  New  England  States, 
New  York,  Maryland,  the  Virginias,  Kentucky  and  Ten- 
nessee, and  terminates  in  the  northern  portions  of  Georgia 
and  Alabama.  To  the  untutored  and  untraveled  savage 
these  lofty  ridges  appeared  to  be  without  end;  and  long 
usage  and  association  of  ideas  had  led  him  to  apply  the 
name  to  many  other  things  which  to  him  seemed  great  and 
wonderful.  From  this  fact  the  Spaniards  inferred  that 
when  they  should  arrive  at  Appalachen  they  would  find  a 

26 


DISCOVERY,  EXPLORATION  AND  SETTLEMENT 

city  rivaling  the  capital  of  the  Incas  in  splendor,  whose  very 
streets  they  imagined  were  paved  with  gold  and  whose  gates 
were  composed  of  the  same  precious  metal.  Great  was 
their  disappointment!  On  the  25th  of  June,  1528,  after 
noting  that  they  had  crossed  a  river  with  a  strong  current 
some  distance  from  the  sea,  probably  the  Alabama,  they 
came  upon  a  miserable  village  of  forty  huts,  which,  for  de- 
fensive purposes,  had  been  located  in  the  middle  of  a  swamp. 
This  was  the  great  Appalachen,  whose  fame  had  for  so  many 
days  filled  their  imaginations !  The  male  portion  of  the 
inhabitants  had  disappeared,  leaving  only  a  few  women  and 
children  to  greet  the  unwelcome  visitors — an  ominous  cir- 
cumstance which  should  have  inspired  caution,  but  it  did 
not. 

The  pious  Spaniards  gave  thanks  for  what  they  had 
found,  and  de  Vaca  remarks  that  here  they  believed  "  would 
be  an  end  to  their  great  hardships."  They  possessed  them- 
selves of  the  town  without  opposition,  and  found  maize 
enough  in  the  granaries  to  satisfy  their  present  hunger ;  but 
the  natives  did  not  seem  to  possess  any  other  kind  of  food. 
The  surrounding  woods  abounded  with  game,  which  the 
skill  of  the  savages  enabled  them  to  kill  or  capture ;  but  the 
arms  of  the  Spaniards  were  not  constructed  for  sporting 
purposes,  and  in  the  midst  of  plenty  their  hunger  for  meat 
was  tantalized  by  their  inability  to  procure  it. 

Scarcely  had  they  removed  their  armor  and  prepared  to 

enjoy  the  rest  which  they  so  much  needed,  when  the  village 

27 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

was  attacked  by  the  Indians  who  had  concealed  themselves 
in  the  adjacent  thickets  and  canebrakes.  With  whoops  and 
yells  exceeding  anything  the  Spaniards  had  ever  heard,  they 
discharged  showers  of  arrows  into  the  midst  of  their  unsus- 
pecting foes,  by  which  several  of  the  latter  were  seriously 
wounded.  Some  of  the  shafts  having  been  set  on  fire  and 
fixed  into  the  dry  leaves  and  branches  of  the  huts,  nearly, 
the  whole  town  soon  burst  into  flames;  but  by  great  exer- 
tions the  Spaniards  at  length  drove  the  savages  away,  and 
saved  enough  of  the  houses  to  shelter  themselves  until  others 
could  be  constructed. 

Throughout  all  their  sufferings  and  hardships  the  adven- 
turers never  lost  any  part  of  their  infatuation  for  gold.  Be- 
lieving that  great  quantities  of  that  metal  existed  near 
their  present  location,  they  spent  nearly  a  month  scouring 
the  country  in  quest  of  it ;  but  none  could  be  found.  Neither 
were  they  able  to  discover  a  single  great  city,  with  walls 
and  towers  and  minarets,  such  as  their  imaginations  had 
pictured.  A  few  small  villages,  more  miserable  and  squalid 
if  possible  than  the  one  they  had  first  occupied,  were  the 
only  human  habitations  they  encountered;  but  these  con- 
tained nothing  of  value  to  the  explorers,  not  even  corn 
enough  to  satisfy  their  now  ravenous  hunger.  The  country 
was  poor  and  thinly  populated,  with  a  few  tribes  of  exceed- 
ingly fierce  and  warlike  savages,  who  availed  themselves 
of  every  opportunity  to  wreak  vengeance  upon  the  intru- 
ders. Every  swamp  and  thicket  seemed  alive  with  lurking 

28 


DISCOVERY,  EXPLORATION  AND  SETTLEMENT 

foes,  until  the  Spaniards  could  not  lead  a  horse  to  water  or 
venture  into  the  woods  for  any  purpose  whatever,  without 
being  set  upon  by  the  implacable  and  apparently  ever-present 
red  men. 

At  length,  yielding  to  the  grim  necessity  of  their  situa- 
tion, and  abandoning  all  hope  of  suddenly  acquiring  wealth, 
they  resolved  on  making  their  way  back  to  the  sea.  But 
this  was  a  more  difficult  task  than  their  inland  march  had 
been,  for  now  they  were  sick  and  emaciated,  without  food  or 
the  prospect  of  procuring  any ;  while  on  every  hand  swarmed 
painted  savages,  vindictive  and  threatening.  Notwithstand- 
ing their  pitiable  state  they  were  compelled  to  fight  every  step 
of  the  way,  living  mainly  on  food  that,  under  other  circum- 
stances, would  have  disgusted  and  horrified  them.  Indeed 
they  were  reduced  to  the  extremity  of  devouring  the  bodies 
of  their  companions  who  died  on  the  road,  a  circumstance 
which  still  further  incensed  the  natives.  It  was  a  custom 
of  these  Indians,  as  it  was  with  several  other  American 
tribes,  to  eat  the  enemies  they  slew  or  captured  in  war,  be- 
lieving that  they  thus  assimilated  all  the  good  and  brave 
qualities  of  their  victims ;  but  it  filled  them  with  horror  and 
indignation  to  encounter  a  race  that  would  eat  its  own  dead. 
They  now  regarded  the  white  men  as  wretches  too  vile  for 
anything  but  death,  and  their  assaults  upon  the  limping 
fugitives  became  fiercer  and  more  frequent  each  day. 

The  Spaniards  directed  their  course  in  a  southwesterly 
direction,  and  after  a  fortnight  of  almost  incredible  hard- 

29 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

ship  and  suffering  their  ears  were  once  more  gladdened  by 
the  sound  of  the  rolling  surf.  Hastening  to  the  shore  they 
threw  themselves  exhausted  on  the  glistening  white  sands; 
but  they  had  emerged  upon  a  portion  of  the  coast  far  to  the 
northwest  of  the  place  where  their  ships  had  been  moored; 
and  strain  their  eyes  as  far  as  they  might,  out  over  the  roll- 
ing waves  and  along  the  shore-line,  no  sign  of  a  sail  could 
be  seen.  Their  companions  had  either  given  them  up  for 
lost,  or  the  ships  had  been  driven  away  by  storms  or  some 
overpowering  force  of  savages.  To  this  day  no  satisfactory 
record  of  the  fate  of  the  fleet  or  those  on  board  of  it  has 
been  found. 

The  castaways  were  in  a  most  deplorable  condition. 
Before  them  was  the  sea,  which  they  could  not  cross  without 
ships;  behind  them  lay  the  country  from  which  they  had 
fled,  whose  forests  now  swarmed  with  vengeful  enemies 
whom  they  had  neither  the  power  nor  the  spirit  to  combat. 
They  had  no  means  of  escape  except  by  vessels;  and  how 
could  these  be  created  out  of  the  sands  of  the  sea  ?  "  They 
knew  not  how  to  construct,"  plaintively  wrote  de  Vaca; 
"  nor  were  there  tools,  nor  iron,  nor  forge,  nor  tow,  nor 
resin,  nor  rigging;  .  .  .  nor  any  man  who  had  a  knowledge 
of  their  manufacture;  and,  above  all,  there  was  nothing  to 
eat  while  building,  for  those  who  should  labor." 

But  their  desperate  necessity  brought  forth  invention. 
One  of  the  sailors  fabricated  a  bellows  of  skins  and  hollow 
reeds,  and  this  encouraged  others  to  emulate  his  example. 

3° 


DISCOVERY,  EXPLORATION  AND  SETTLEMENT 

Hope  sprang  out  of  despair.  Seeing  that  they  now  had  a 
possible  means  of  salvation,  the  men  set  to  work  with  spirit 
and  energy,  and  first  constructing  rough  tools  from  the 
iron  of  their  crossbows  and  spurs,  they  employed  these  in 
beating  out  nails  and  making  saws  and  axes.  With  these 
they  cut  trees  into  rough  boards,  and  began  the  laborious 
task  of  building  boats  that  at  least  would  float.  Meanwhile 
their  remaining  supply  of  food  was  carefully  husbanded. 
Every  three  days  a  horse  was  slaughtered  and  the  flesh  ap- 
portioned among  the  members  of  the  company,  the  skin  of 
the  legs  being  carefully  removed  whole  to  serve  as  water 
bottles.  Employment  brought  contentment,  the  spirits  of 
the  men  rose,  and  they  sang  and  laughed  as  they  went  about 
their  daily  task.  So  happily  is  the  human  mind  framed, 
that  despair  cannot  possess  us  while  hope  lasts. 

After  weeks  of  painful  labor  five  boats,  each  a  little  over 
thirty  feet  in  length,  were  constructed  and  ready  for  launch- 
ing. The  seams  were  caulked  with  the  fiber  and  pith  of 
the  palmetto,  and  pitched  with  the  resin  of  pine  trees;  the 
tails  and  manes  of  the  horses  were  plaited  into  ropes  and 
cordage,  and  sails  were  fabricated  out  of  the  shirts  of  the 
men.  By  this  time  the  weather  had  become  so  warm  that 
clothing  was  no  longer  essential  to  comfort,  and  the  fugi- 
tives were  willing  enough  to  adopt  the  customs  of  their 
savage  neighbors  in  order  that  they  might  escape  from  a 
country  which  had  been  to  them  a  land  of  horrors. 

Their  work  progressed  more  rapidly  than  might  have 

31 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

been  expected  under  such  trying  circumstances,  so  that  by 
the  22d  of  September  they  were  ready  to  take  their  depart- 
ure. Meanwhile  forty  of  the  men  had  died  of  disease  and 
exposure,  besides  a  number  of  others  who  had  been  killed 
in  their  numerous  battles  with  the  natives;  and  all  but  one 
of  the  horses  had  been  slaughtered  and  eaten.  They  there- 
fore called  the  spot  Bahia  de  Caballos,  or  Bay  of  the  Horses, 
which  has  been  partly  identified  as  the  modern  harbor  of 
St.  Marks,  Florida. 

After  slaughtering  their  remaining  horse  and  laying  in 
'a  supply  of  shell-fish,  together  with  such  small  quantities 
of  maize  as  they  could  capture  from  the  Indians,  the 
wretched  remnant  of  fugitives  embarked  in  their  frail 
vessels  and  set  sail  in  a  westward  direction.  They 
hoped  to  reach  the  Spanish  settlement  of  Panuco,  and 
there  obtain  relief;  but  they  were  destined  to  many  bitter 
disappointments  and  catastrophes.  The  boats  were  so 
heavily  laden  that  the  gunwales  came  almost  level  with  the 
water,  so  that  each  in-rolling  wave  threatened  them  with  de- 
struction. Their  sufferings  were  necessarily  intense.  Not 
daring  to  venture  out  into  the  gulf,  they  crept  along  the 
coast,  but  were  unable  to  land  either  for  food  or  repose,  for 
by  this  time  all  the  savages  along  the  shore  had  been  warned 
of  their  presence,  and  each  attempt  to  approach  the  land 
was  met  by  warlike  demonstrations  and  flights  of  hostile 
arrows. 

De  Vaca  had  been  placed  in  command  of  one  of  the  boats, 

32 


DISCOVERY,  EXPLORATION  AND  SETTLEMENT 

and  after  many  days  of  such  suffering  as  we  have  described, 
his  men  were  so  exhausted  that  not  more  than  one  or  two 
had  strength  enough  left  to  lift  an  oar  or  handle  a  sail. 
Finding  that  they  were  drifting  hopelessly  behind  the  little 
fleet,  de  Vaca  signaled  the  commander  for  help;  but  Nar- 
vaez  refused  to  render  him  the  least  assistance.  The  time 
had  come,  he  said,  when  each  man  must  take  care  of  him- 
self. 

Soon  after  this  occurrence  the  leading  boats  were  caught 
in  the  swift  current  of  the  Mississippi  river  as  it  poured  its 
yellow  waters  through  the  diverging  channels  of  its 
delta,  and  they  were  carried  out  into  the  gulf  stream.  Only 
one  of  them  was  ever  heard  of  again.  De  Vaca  and  his 
companions  were  more  fortunate  in  being  able  to  main- 
tain their  position  near  the  shore,  but  they  were  soon  driven 
by  a  violent  storm  upon  a  sandy  island.  There  they  lay 
until  the  following  morning,  so  completely  exhausted  that 
they  had  not  the  power  to  exert  themselves.  But  with  the 
rising  of  the  sun  their  courage  returned,  and  digging  their 
boat  out  of  the  sands  where  the  surf  had  buried  it,  they 
once  more  submitted  themselves  to  the  sea.  Almost  in- 
stantly their  frail  craft  was  struck  by  the  in-rolling  waves, 
and  hurled  back  upon  the  beach.  Several  of  the  men  were 
drowned  in  this  second  disaster,  and  the  survivors  were 
reduced  to  a  state  of  almost  hopeless  despair.  Fortunately, 
the  Indians  who  inhabited  this  island,  being  isolated  from 
fheir  countrymen  on  the  main  shore,  had  not  heard  the 

33 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

evil  reports  concerning  the  Spaniards ;  and  now  coming  for- 
ward they  kindled  fires  by  which  the  naked  and  shivering 
men  might  warm  themselves,  and  presented  them  also  with 
such  simple  food  as  they  possessed.  In  various  ways  these 
untutored  savages  manifested  a  genuine  humanity  and  com- 
passion for  the  sufferers,  and  demonstrated  the  fact  that 
though  they  were  ignorant  of  the  teachings  of  Christianity, 
they  nevertheless  possessed  its  spirit.  Except  for  this  timely 
succor  the  Spaniards  must  all  have  perished,  for  winter, 
with  its  storms  and  cold,  was  by  this  time  drawing  near. 

In  a  few  days  the  fugitives  were  joined  by  their  compan- 
ions from  one  of  the  other. boats,  which  had  been  wrecked 
on  the  same  beach  not  far  distant;  and  by  this  accession 
their  numbers  were  increased  to  eighty.  No  word  ever 
came  back,  however,  to  tell  the  fate  of  Narvaez  or  any  of  the 
occupants  of  the  other  three  boats. 

De  Vaca,  assuming  command  of  the  remaining  adven- 
turers, made  such  preparations  as  he  could  to  carry  them 
through  the  winter.  In  their  extremity  the  services  of  the 
friendly  Indians  were  invaluable.  The  Spaniards  had 
saved  a  few  axes  and  tools,  and  with  these  and  the  help  of 
the  savages  they  built  huts  to  protect  themselves  from  the 
weather;  but  they  had  no  means  of  weaving  cloth  or  mak- 
ing clothes,  and  their  sufferings  during  the  winter  almost 
exceeded  human  endurance.  Many  died  of  sickness  and 
privation,  and  all  must  have  perished  of  cold  except  for  the 
fact  that  the  latitude  was  south  of  the  freezing  point. 

34 


DISCOVERY,  EXPLORATION  AND  SETTLEMENT 

At  first  the  Indians  generously  divided  their  scanty  stores 
of  food  with  their  unexpected  guests,  but  their  provis- 
ions being  exhausted  the  Spaniards  were  once  more  com- 
pelled to  resort  to  cannibalism,  and  ate  the  bodies  of  those 
who  died  of  disease.  This  incensed  the  savages,  as  it  had 
done  their  brethren  in  the  interior,  and  from  kind-hearted 
and  considerate  friends  they  were  transformed  into  in- 
veterate enemies  and  oppressors.  The  surviving  Spaniards 
were  now  enslaved  and  treated  with  such  rigor  that  but  few 
of  them  lived  through  the  winter.  Those  who  did  survive 
that  fateful  ordeal  were  taken  to  the  mainland  and  distri- 
buted as  slaves  among  various  tribes,  in  order  that  they 
might  not  be  able  to  take  any  concerted  action  for  their 
freedom.  To  the  island  which  had  supplied  them  with  so 
dreary  a  habitation  de  Vaca  applied  the  name  Mathado 
(Misfortune),  and  some  writers  believe  they  have  identi- 
fied it  as  that  upon  which  the  city  of  Galveston  is  built. 
This,  however,  is  purely  conjecture,  for  there  is  no  certain 
information  concerning  the  matter. 

De  Vaca  remained  in  captivity  for  six  years,  among  a 
people  to  whom  he  gave  the  name  of  Mariames,  but  who 
have  not  been  identified  with  any  of  the  later  known  tribes. 
During  this  time  he  wandered  over  a  large  scope  of  country, 
going  as  far  north  as  the  Red  river,  near  the  present  site 
of  Shreveport;  but  at  frequent  intervals  he  made  his  way 
back  to  the  sea-coast,  hoping  to  meet  some  of  his  old  com- 
rades, or  to  attract  the  attention  of  a  passing  ship. 

35 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

After  the  first  few  months  of  slavery  he  succeeded  in  re- 
gaining a  considerable  degree  of  freedom,  by  making  himself 
useful  to  those  with  whom  fate  had  decreed  he  should  live. 
Having  some  knowledge  of  the  remedial  properties  of  cer- 
tain herbs,  he  practised  the  arts  of  a  medicine-man,  and 
gained  the  confidence  of  the  natives  by  curing  their  ailments. 
He  also  exercised  an  influence  over  their  religious  natures 
by  reciting  pater  nosters  and  making  the  sign  of  the  cross, 
ceremonies  which  gained  for  him  a  reputation  of  super- 
natural powers.  Having  learned  by  experience  that  com- 
merce was  a  certain  introduction  to  their  good-will,  he 
added  that  to  his  other  accomplishments,  with  great  ad- 
vantage to  himself.  He  found  that  if  he  had  something  to 
sell  or  barter  that  the  natives  wanted,  and  of  a  better  quality 
than  anything  they  had  been  accustomed  to,  he  was  sure  of 
a  friendly  welcome:  He  accordingly  provided  himself  with 
combs,  bows,  arrows,  spears  and  fishing-nets  of  his  own 
manufacture,  to  which  he  added  flints  to  be  used  in  kindling 
fires,  red  earth  for  paints,  and  bright-colored  shells  which 
he  fabricated  into  beads.  Possessing  himself  of  a  stock  of 
these  articles,  he  was  enabled  not  only  to  gain  favor  with 
the  natives,  but  he  bartered  with  them  for  food  and  the 
skins  of  wild  animals  which  he  made  into  clothing  for  him- 
self. This  traffic  made  him  practically  independent  and 
relieved  him  from  much  of  the  indignity  and  suffering  to 
which  he  had  previously  been  subjected. 

At  length,  during  one  of  his  periodical  visits  to  the  coast, 

36 


DISCOVERY,  EXPLORATION  AND  SETTLEMENT 

he  had  the  good  fortune  to  fall  in  with  three  of  his  former 
companions,  who  like  himself  had  escaped  shipwreck  and 
death  to  be  enslaved  by  the  Indians.  They  were  Cas- 
tillo, Dorantes,  and  Stephen,  the  latter  a  blackamoor  slave 
from  Barbary. 

No  sooner  did  the  fugitives  come  together  than  they 
planned  to  escape  at  the  first  opportunity,  which  was  not 
long  in  presenting  itself.  Their  mutual  association  begat 
fresh  courage  and  inspired  hopes  of  ultimate  success.  Hav- 
ing finally  eluded  the  watchfulness  of  their  captors,  the  four 
Spaniards  shaped  their  course  westward,  hoping  either  to 
reach  the  settlements  of  their  countrymen  in  Mexico,  or 
encounter  some  roving  band  of  explorers  who  would  lead 
them  again  to  civilization.  De  Vaca  taught  the  others  the 
simple  rudiments  of  medicine  which  he  had  acquired;  and 
by  applying  these  as  occasion  arose  they  readily  made  their 
way  among  the  various  tribes  whom  they  encountered. 
They  themselves  attributed  their  cures  to  the  miraculous 
interposition  of  providence,  rather  than  the  beneficial  effects 
of  the  remedies  which  they  employed;  and  they  were  care- 
ful to  impress  this  belief  on  the  minds  of  their  confiding 
patients. 

The  Texas  country  in  which  they  had  been  journeying 
was  then  called  by  the  Spaniards  the  New  Philippines, 
from  some  fancied  resemblance  to  the  islands  of  that  name 
which  had  been  but  recently  discovered  by  Magalhaens. 
Across  this  vast  region  the  fugitives  made  their  way, 

37 


432391 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

until  they  came  to  the  Rio  Grande  del  Norte,  and  following 
its  course  northwestwardly  it  brought  them  into  the  coun- 
try of  the  buffalo  hunters.  But  they  did  not  go  quite  far 
enough  to  obtain  a  view  of  the  vast  plains,  which,  stretching 
out  on  every  hand  like  a  rolling  ocean  of  green,  constituted 
the  pasture-lands  of  the  American  bison.  It  was  reserved 
for  future  travelers  to  record  the  habits  of  this  interesting 
animal. 

Coming  at  length  to  the  foot-hills  of  a  lofty  range  of 
mountains,  the  wanderers  found  themselves  in  the  midst 
of  one  of  the  most  peculiar  races  of  people  that  nature  has 
produced.  They  were  the  Pueblo  Indians,  now  so  familiar 
to  all  readers  of  American  history;  but  to  the  fugitive 
Spaniards  they  seemed  like  inhabitants  of  fairyland.  Their 
homes  were  perched  on  the  ledges  of  tall  cliffs,  like  birds' 
nests,  overlooking  canyons  of  such  tremendous  proportions 
that  their  gloomy  depths  could  scarcely  be  discerned. 

At  that  time  these  Indians  had  attained  a  considerable 
degree  of  civilization,  about  midway  between  that  of  the 
roving  hunter  tribes  of  the  north  and  the  more  advanced 
and  polished  races  of  Peru  and  Mexico.  They  were  an 
agricultural  people,  living  chiefly  by  cultivating  maize  and 
a  few  vegetables  in  their  little  fields;  though  they  also 
hunted,  in  a  primitive  way,  such  animals  as  were  to  be  found 
in  their  immediate  vicinity.  Among  their  agricultural 
products  were  maize,  beans  of  two  or  three  varieties,  and 
pumpkins;  and  they  made  bread  of  the  mealy  pulp  of  the 

38 


,/  PUEULO  HOUSE  ULLAGE. 

was  (lie  first  explorer  to  direct  attention  to  the  village  houses  that 
^•^  distinguished  the  Pueblo  .Indians.  The  word  "Pueblo"  signifies  village, 
and  was  bestowed  because  of  the  habit  of  these  people  to  construct  houses  of  sun- 
diied  brick  which  resist  the  ravages  of  time  infinitely  better  than  any  other  kind 
of  building  material.  Ruins  of  these  adobe  structures  are  to  be  found  scattered 
over  a  large  parf  of  the  southwest,  some  of  which  are  relics  of  houses  built  prob- 
abfy  a  thousand  years  or  more  ago. 


1S1ANA   TERRITORY 

I 

nought  them  into  the  c- 

try  of  the  buif  ers.     But  they  did  not  go  quite 

enough  to  <  the  vast  plains,  which,  stretching 

out  on  eve;  .;  ocean  of  green,  constituted 

the  f  the  A  It  was  reserved 

:  cresting 
ani: 

:^e  of 
mount-". 
of  one          \    Y  \  has 


'" 

m-p  «3rjiiigiti 

•  »&uotf£& 


,>,  bnuo)  a- 

<i 

-•cely  be  discerned. 
1  attained  a  considerable 
;tt  midv  t  of  the 

the  north  and  the  need 

Peru  and  Mex- 
.iLiral  people,  living 

,.etables  i  they 

to  be  if.- 
•xliate    \  agricult 

two  or 

bread  of  the  mealy  pul 
38 


DISCOVERY }  EXPLORATION  AND   SETTLEMENT 

mezquite-tree.  This  substance  was  obtained  by  pounding 
the  ripe  pods  into  chaff,  and  separating  the  meal  from  the 
seeds  and  hulls  by  sifting  it  through  a  rawhide  sieve.  The 
meal  thus  obtained  was  dry  and  sweet,  and  in  addition  to 
being  compounded  into  bread  was  used  in  place  of  sugar 
to  sweeten  corn-cakes.  But  though  it  contained  a  great 
deal  of  saccharine  matter,  the  taste  was  insipid  and  some- 
what sickening  to  those  unaccustomed  to  its  use. 

The  Pueblos  also  cultivated  cotton,  spinning  and  weaving 
it  into  a  strong  and  durable  cloth,  which  they  fashioned 
into  flowing  mantles  and  other  articles  of  summer  wear; 
but  their  winter  costumes  were  composed  of  furs  and  the 
skins  of  animals.  Their  houses  in  many  instances  were 
built  of  loose  stones,  cemented  with  a  mortar  of  earth,  ashes 
and  charcoal,  in  place  of  lime ;  but  as  a  rule  they  were  com- 
posed of  sun-dried  bricks,  or  adobes,  such  as  are  yet  to  be 
found  all  over  that  country  and  in  some  portions  of  Mexico. 
Owing  to  the  exceeding  dryness  of  the  atmosphere,  the 
bricks,  when  fully  seasoned,  were  almost  as  hard  as  stone, 
and  when  built  into  the  walls  of  forts  they  were  capable  of 
resisting  musket  balls  and  small  artillery.  Houses  con- 
structed of  this  material  centuries  ago  are  still  standing, 
and  in  a  good  state  of  preservation. 

Each  house,  or  series  of  houses,  formed  a  village,  with 
capacity  to  accommodate  several  hundred  persons.  Their 
form  was  generally  that  of  a  parallelogram,  several  stories 
high,  with  terraces  and  inner  balconies  surrounding  a 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

court.  Each  upper  story  receded  a  few  feet  from  the  one 
below  it,  the  whole  forming  a  series  of  walks  along  the 
entire  length  of  the  building,  on  which  ladders  were  placed 
to  afford  means  of  ascent.  At  night,  or  in  cases  of  alarm, 
the  ladders  were  drawn  up  to  the  roofs  and  secured  there. 
The  lower  stories  had  neither  windows  nor  doors,  the  only 
entrance  to  the  apartments  being  effected  through  the  roofs 
by  means  of  the  ladders.  But  the  uppermost  terrace  con- 
tained both  doors  and  windows,  without  ladders. 

As  a  rule  the  entire  community  or  tribe  lived  in  a  single 
building  of  this  character,  each  family  occupying  an  apart- 
ment; until,  as  the  children  grew  up  and  were  married, 
other  apartments  were  constructed  for  their  use.  Every 
village  contained  a  large  assembly  room,  of  dimensions 
sufficient  to  accommodate  several  hundred  persons,  in  which 
they  held  their  councils  of  state  and  met  for  their  dances 
and  festivals. 

The  Pueblos  were  a  peaceable  race,  very  rarely  engaging 
in  warlike  enterprises,  and  then  only  as  a  means  of  defense 
against  the  fiercer  tribes  of  the  north  by  whom  they  were 
occasionally  visited.  Their  weapons  consisted  of  bows  and 
arrows,  war-clubs  and  stones,  magazines  of  the  latter  being 
always  provided  on  the  roofs  of  the  houses,  ready  for  ser- 
vice in  any  emergency.  They  were  by  no  means  a  sanguin- 
ary people,  and  were  horrified  at  the  suggestion  of  eating 
their  enemies.  Their  government  was  a  pure  democracy, 

without  kings,  priests,   or  chiefs;  neither  had  they  any 

42 


DISCOVERY,  EXPLORATION  AND  SETTLEMENT 

classes  of  society,  like  the  nobility,  peasantry,  and  laboring 
people  of  Europe;  every  one  stood  on  a  plane  of  perfect 
equality  with  his  neighbors.  They  were  governed  as  little 
as  any  people  of  whom  we  have  any  account.  Annually 
each  community  elected  a  council  of  three  or  four  of  their 
wisest  old  men,  who  in  turn  chose  a  governor,  and  this 
body  heard  all  causes  of  complaint  and  attended  to  the  exe- 
cution of  the  laws,  which  were  of  the  simplest  character. 
Very  few  offenses  were  committed,  and  no  harsh  or  cruel 
punishments  were  inflicted.  The  crime  of  adultery,  gen- 
erally so  common  among  primitive  peoples,  was  almost  un- 
known, and  polygamy  did  not  exist.  The  women  were 
noted  for  their  chastity  and  modest  demeanor.  Such  re- 
ligion as  they  professed  was  the  simplest  and  purest  form 
of  sun-worship,  supplemented  with  the  usual  commonplace 
superstitions  that  seem  to  have  prevailed  among  all  races 
of  mankind,  in  all  ages  and  countries.  The  Pueblos  had 
no  calendar,  and  no  apparent  knowledge  of  astronomy; 
neither  did  they  employ  any  system  of  hieroglyphics  or 
picture-writing,  like  the  better  educated  nations  south  of 
them.  They  were  a  happy,  contented,  simple-minded 
people,  living  in  a  patriarchal  state,  entirely  satisfied  with 
the  uneventful  mode  of  existence  to  which  nature  had  as- 
signed them.  In  after  years  they  were  readily  converted 
to  the  Catholic  faith  by  Spanish  priests  who  visited  them; 
but  in  their  conversion  they  merely  engrafted  the  dogmas 
of  the  Church  upon  their  own  superstitions,  thereby  com- 

43 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

posing  a  motley  religion  which,  even  down  to  the  present 
time,  seems  to  satisfy  all  their  wants.  Witchcraft  holds  a 
prominent  place  in  their  belief,  and  some  years  ago  it  pro- 
duced disturbances  of  so  serious  a  character  that  the  terri- 
torial authorities  were  obliged  to  interfere  and  restore 
order. 

By  the  treaty  of  1848,  between  the  United  States  and 
Mexico,  the  country  of  the  Pueblos  was  transferred  to  the 
former,  and  nine  years  afterward  Chief  Justice  Slough  de- 
cided that  by  the  terms  of  the  treaty  these  Indians  were 
American  citizens.  But  though  judicially  declared  such, 
and  entitled  to  all  the  privileges  that  the  term  implies,  the 
laws  of  New  Mexico  still  deprive  them  of  the  right  of  suf- 
frage. They  retain  their  ancient  customs  and  tribal  forms 
of  government,  and  once  a  year  each  village  elects  its  own 
council  and  governor,  as  they  have  done  for  centuries. 

The  Spaniards  remained  with  their  kind-hearted  hosts  for 
several  months,  treated,  meanwhile,  in  the  gentlest  and  most 
considerate  manner;  after  which  they  crossed  the  Rio 
Grande  and  continued  their  westward  course  through  the 
present  states  of  Chihuahua  and  Sonora.  In  May,  1536, 
they  drew  near  the  Pacific  coast,  and  on  entering  the  village 
of  San  Miguel,  in  Sonora,  they  were  discovered  by  a  party 
of  Spanish  explorers  and  by  them  conducted  to  the  City  of 
Mexico. 

Their  sufferings  seem  to  have  increased  during  the  latter 
part  of  their  travels,  for  de  Vaca  asserts  that  they  were 

44 


DISCOVERY,  EXPLORATION  AND  SETTLEMENT 

bereft  of  all  clothing,  and  "  twice  a  year  we  cast  our  skins, 
like  a  serpent."  This,  however,  sounds  like  the  idle  talk 
of  a  traveler,  uttered  to  adorn  a  tale,  and  it  ought  to  be 
taken  with  a  proper  grain  of  allowance. 

The  wanderers  having  been  clothed  and  fed,  were  taken 
on  a  triumphal  march  to  the  City  of  Mexico,  being  enter- 
tained as  public  guests  in  all  the  towns  and  villages  through 
which  they  passed.  Stephen,  the  blackamoor,  remained  in 
Mexico,  and  soon  afterward  engaged  in  other  adventures 
with  result  fatal  .to  himself,  as  we  shall  see ;  but  de  Vaca 
and  his  two  white  companions  returned  to  Spain,  by  way 
of  Cuba  and  Santo  Domingo,  the  story  of  their  marvelous 
adventures  gaining  new  honors  for  them  wherever  they 
went.  The  first  edition  of  de  Vaca's  chronicles  was  pub- 
lished while  he  remained  in  Santo  Domingo,  and  a  new  and 
enlarged  edition  was  printed  soon  after  his  arrival  in  Spain. 
It  was  eagerly  read  by  the  people  of  the  nation.  Nothing 
in  the  Spanish  language  had  ever  attracted  such  intense 
and  universal  interest.  De  Vaca  and  his  comrades  were 
looked  upon  as  heroes  of  some  wonderful  romance,  and 
their  adventures  aroused  a  profound  interest  in  the  strange 
tribes  and  countries  which  had  been  visited  by  them.  This 
interest  was  intensified  by  the  mystery  surrounding  the 
whole  matter.  Because  de  Vaca  did  not  describe  great 
cities  and  vast  store-houses  filled  with  gold  and  precious 
stones,  it  was  taken  for  granted  that  they  really  did  exist, 
but  that  he  was  endeavoring  to  conceal  them  until  he  could 

45 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

arrange  to  gather  in  their  riches  for  himself,  as  Cortez 
and  Pizarro  had  done  in  Mexico  and  Peru.  The  things 
that  he  did  not  relate  were  supposed  to  be  even  more 
wonderful  than  those  which  were  fully  set  forth  in  the  pages 
of  his  little  book,  so  that  if  he  had  undertaken  to  write  a 
prospectus  in  stimulation  of  discovery  he  could  hardly  have 
succeeded  better  than  he  did.  Spain  went  wild  over  the 
new  land  of  wonders,  and  other  expeditions  were  quickly 
organized  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  the  unfortunate 
Narvaez.  But  before  considering  these  we  will  briefly 
notice  several  explorations  that  originated  in  Mexico,  and 
extended  as  far  toward  the  north  and  east  as  our  own 
Colorado  and  Kansas. 


DIVISION  II. 

The  Seven  Cities  of  Cibola. 


THE  singular  and  unexpected  appearance  in  Mexico  of 
Cabeza  de  Vaca  and  his  three  companions,  together  with  the 
marvelous  stories  they  recounted,  and  the  still  more  wonder- 
ful things  it  was  believed  they  might  tell  if  they  would, 
quickened  the  Spanish  adventurers  of  that  country  with 
renewed  desire  for  discovery  and  conquest. 

As  early  as  1528,  an  Indian  slave  from  the  north  country 
had  fired  the  hearts  of  his  masters  with  his  extraordinary 
stones  of  the  "  Seven  Cities  of  Cibola,"  whose  minarets 
and  spires,  according  to  his  account,  glittered  in  the  peren- 
nial sun,  and  whose  riches  surpassed  anything  dreamed  of 
in  Mexico  or  Peru.  Like  others  of  his  countrymen,  he 
excited  their  imagination  to  its  utmost  bounds  in  the  fond 
hope  of  leading  the  hated  Spaniards  into  desert  and  forbid- 
ding countries,  where  they  might  perish  of  hunger  and  cold, 
or  fall  victims  to  the  resentment  of  the  fierce  tribes  that 
dominated  those  regions. 

This  imaginative  savage  located  the  seven  cities  of  Cibola 
on  the  great  plains  that  stretch  between  the  two  oceans,  be- 
yond the  land  of  the  buffaloes,  which  latter  he  described  as 

47 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

"  cattle  whose  hair  grew  like  the  wool  of  a  sheep."  The 
whole  country,  as  he  pictured  it,  abounded  in  silver  and 
gold,  to  such  an  extent  that  not  only  were  the  roofs  of  the 
houses  composed  of  those  precious  metals,  but  they  were 
also  wrought  into  drinking  vessels  and  other  domestic 
utensils  of  the  natives.  He  reminded  the  Spaniards  that 
what  they  had  seen  in  the  countries  which  they  had  already 
conquered,  was  not  to  be  compared  with  the  vast  stores  of 
wealth  that  lay  on  every  hand  in  the  cities  of  the  plain.  In 
the  mysterious  and  far-away  Cibola  gold  and  silver  were 
almost  as  plentiful  as  mud  and  adobe  bricks  in  Mexico,  and 
this  enormous  wealth  only  awaited  the  coming  of  "  the  men 
of  thunder"  to  possess  themselves  of  it. 

The  Spaniards  had  already  seen  and  acquired  enough  in 
the  lands  of  the  south  to  be  of  open  mind  and  credulous 
concerning  any  fabulous  stories  they  might  hear  of  other 
places;  and  they  accordingly  believed  everything  that  was 
told  them  about  the  cities  of  the  plain. 

Nuno  Beltran  de  Guzman,  then  president  of  New  Spain, 
lost  no  time  in  leading  an  expedition  toward  the  new  realms 
of  wealth.  In  November,  1529,  he  marched  northward  at 
the  head  of  five  hundred  Spaniards  and  ten  thousand 
Indian  auxiliaries,  the  whole  constituting  an  army  of 
such  splendid  appearance  and  awe-inspiring  proportions 
as  to  strike  terror  to  the  hearts  of  the  natives  through  whose 
country  it  passed.  On  reaching  the  borders  of  Jalisco,  the 

Spaniards  quickly  overran  and  subdued  that  province;  and 

48 


THE  SEVEN  CITIES  OF  CIBOLA 

in  order  that  it  might  be  wholly  subjected  to  the  Spanish 
monarch,  Guzman  proceeded  to  make  way  with  the  native 
population,  either  by  slaughtering  the  Indians  or  sending 
them  as  slaves  to  the  older  provinces  of  Mexico,  where  they 
were  bartered  for  cattle  and  horses.  These  animals,  being 
transported  to  the  new  province,  became  the  progenitors  of 
the  later  herds  that  ranged  the  prairies  of  northern  Mexico 
and  southern  California,  and  still  constitute  so  large  a  part 
of  the  wealth  of  those  sections. 

But  Guzman's  cruelties  were  so  enormous  that  he  was 
soon  recalled,  and  finding  himself,  after  an  ineffectual  re- 
sistance, abandoned  by  the  greater  part  of  his  followers, 
he  returned  to  Spain,  where  he  died  in  poverty  and 
disgrace. 

Meanwhile,  the  Indian  slave  who  had  told  such  marvel- 
ous stories  about  the  seven  cities  of  Cibola,  had  either  died 
or  disappeared,  and  his  mental  fancies  were  in  a  measure 
forgotten  by  those  who  had  heard  them.  But  they  were 
revived  and  enlarged  upon  when  de  Vaca  and  his  fellow- 
wanderers  made  their  unexpected  advent  and  recounted  the 
wonders  they  had  witnessed  in  the  far-away  northern 
region.  Their  countrymen  in  Mexico  at  once  concluded 
that  they  had  discovered  the  famous  cities  of  the  plain,  and 
their  protestations  and  denials  only  deepened  the  impres- 
sion. It  was  generally  believed  that  they  had  seen  the  cit- 
ies whose  minarets  and  spires  touched  the  skies;  whose 
roofs  were  covered  with  gold  and  silver ;  whose  people  were 
clothed  in  silks  and  the  softest  and  finest  of  woolen  goods. 

49 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

and  that  they  were  endeavoring  to  conceal  the  facts  in 
order  that  they  might  return  and  possess  themselves  of  the 
riches  which  abounded  in  such  profusion. 

By  this  time  the  government  of  Jalisco,  or  New  Galicia 
as  it  was  then  called  by  the  Spaniards,  had  been  assigned  to 
Francisco  Vasquez  de  Coronado,  and  he  being  a  man  of 
enterprise  took  immediate  steps  to  ascertain  the  truth  con- 
cerning the  fabulous  country  of  Cibola.  In  looking  about 
for  a  suitable  person  to  carry  out  his  wishes,  he  was  re- 
ferred to  a  famous  Italian  priest  named  Marcos  de  Niza, 
who  was  then  sojourning  temporarily  in  the  city  of  Guada- 
lajara, the  capital  of  Jalisco.  This  priest  had  traveled  ex- 
tensively among  the  Indians  of  the  south,  and  he  was  now 
burning  with  a  desire  to  carry  the  gospel  also  to  those  of 
the  north.  He  accordingly  entered  with  zeal  into  the  plans 
of  Coronado,  and  having  secured  the  services  of  Stephen 
the  blackamoor,  who  had  traveled  with  de  Vaca,  to  act  as 
guide,  Niza  set  out  on  his  perilous  journey  in  the  early  part 
of  1539.  The  governor  himself  accompanied  them  as  far 
as  Culiacan,  in  the  province  of  Sinaloa,  where  he  delivered 
his  parting  instructions  and  dismissed  them. 

During  his  short  stay  in  Culiacan,  Niza  was  joined  by 
a  brother  friar,  as  eager  as  himself  to  preach  the  gospel  to 
the  heathen;  and  on  the  7th  of  March  they  made  a  final 
start  on  their  momentous  undertaking,  with  Stephen  as 
their  guide.  As  they  journeyed  northward  they  passed 

through  a  succession  of  native  villages,  and  were  greeted 

50 


THE  SEVEN  CITIES  OF  CIBOLA 

everywhere  with  friendliness  and  hospitality.  The  people 
of  the  country  seemed  to  regard  them  as  honored  guests, 
whom  it  was  a  pleasure  to  serve.  From  each  village  and 
town  they  were  escorted  by  delegations  of  chiefs  and  war- 
riors, clad  in  white  robes  and  gaily  decorated  with  bril- 
liantly colored  feathers,  who  guided  them  along  the  shortest 
and  easiest  paths  to  the  next  settlement.  The  trip  resem- 
bled a  triumphal  march  through  a  friendly  country,  the 
little  party  being  constantly  surrounded  by  a  brilliant  pro- 
cession of  admiring  and  faithful  followers,  each  exerting 
himself  to  display  some  special  mark  of  devotion. 

As  they  progressed  northward,  however,  and  came  into 
the  borders  of  those  nations  with  which  their  southern 
friends  waged  occasional  wars,  their  reception  was  less 
cordial,  and  it  became  necessary  for  the  travelers  to  have 
the  protection  of  a  regular  war-party.  At  length  they 
came  within  view  of  a  town  of  considerable  proportions, 
whose  terraced  walls,  apparently  of  stone,  indicated  a  place 
of  more  than  ordinary  importance.  They  were  now  in- 
formed by  the  friendly  Indians  that  this  was  one  of  the 
seven  cities  of  Cibola;  and  it  seemed  as  if  their  hopes  were 
about  to  be  fulfilled.  But  on  sending  Stephen  forward  to 
ask  permission  for  the  party  to  enter,  he  made  an  insolent 
demand,  which  so  irritated  the  inhabitants  that  they  swarmed 
out  of  their  gates  and  slew  him  with  their  war-clubs. 
Niza  then  ascended  a  hill  overlooking  the  city,  and  there 
clothed  in  silks  and  the  softest  and  finest  of  woolen  goods, 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

raising  the  cross  he  proclaimed  possession  of  the  country 
in  the  name  of  the  Spanish  monarch. 

The  precise  location  of  this  place  has  never  been  satis- 
factorily demonstrated,  but  enough  is  known  to  assure  us 
that  it  was  one  of  the  larger  towns  of  the  Pueblo  Indians, 
well  within  the  present  limits  of  New  Mexico  or  Arizona. 
No  other  explorer  had  at  that  time  penetrated  so  far  into 
the  interior  of  the  country,  and  Niza,  the  faithful  mission- 
ary, is  entitled  to  the  full  meed  of  credit  for  the  persever- 
ance and  daring  which  he  displayed. 

Opposition  to  his  further  progress  now  became  so  pro- 
nounced that  he  was  compelled  to  abandon  his  purpose; 
and  the  following  September,  just  seven  months  after  hav- 
ing set  out  on  his  northern  trip,  he  reappeared  in  the  city 
of  Mexico.  There  he  gave  out  such  marvelous  accounts 
of  the  richness  of  the  cities  he  had  visited  that  the  cupidity 
of  his  countrymen  was  excited  to  the  highest  pitch.  The 
priest  became  almost  a  second  Peter  the  Hermit;  and  to 
such  an  extent  did  he  work  upon  the  sensibilities  of  the 
Spaniards  that  his  clerical  brethren  took  the  matter  up  and 
made  their  pulpits  ring  with  praises  of  the  magnificence  of 
the  cities  of  the  plain.  Niza  himself  declared  that  the  stone 
houses  of  the  chief  city,  which  he  "  had  viewed  with  his 
own  eyes,"  rose  in  terraces  to  the  height  of  "  many  stories," 
and  that  the  place  was  larger  and  richer  than  the  city  of 
Mexico.  It  is  difficult  to  understand  what  his  purpose 
could  have  been  in  so  grossly  misrepresenting  the  facts, 

52 


MOKI  PRIESTS  PERFORMING  A  CHJNT  SERVICE. 

- 

HE  Moki  Indians  of  the  southwest  area  branch  of  the  Mohaves,  and  of  the 
Apaches,  who  live  in  pueblos  to-day  in  practically  the  same  manner  as 
their  ancient  progenitors.  They  are  extremely  religious,  and  superstitious,  and 
are  credited  with  possessing  occult  powers  equal  to  that  claimed  by  the  Rosicrn- 
ciansof  old.  The  priests  were  keepers  of  the  secret  knowledge,  whose  performances 
were  nearly  always  accompanied  by  a  chant  service  which  was  supposed  to  be  ob- 
noxious to  evil  spirits  and  pleasing  to  the  good,  though  the  agencies  of  both  good 
and  bad  were  appealed  to  according  to  the  character  of  service  required. 


of  the  country 

^vn  to  assure  us 

larger  i  Indians, 

'.  limits  '  or  An 

far  into 


3tl; 


.nsftn 

.-(Jo  OfJ  Ot  ! 


VAOU. 


:    ,.   .. 

H'J  318 

IfVWHJK''  bn* 


The 
e  Hermit;  and 

the 
nd 

ne 


:he  city 


THE  SEVEN  CITIES  OF  CIBOLA 

as  to  transform  a  mud  village  into  a  metropolis  of  mag- 
nificent proportions  and  boundless  wealth;  but  the  result 
of  his  dazzling  report  was  precisely  what  might  have  been 
expected.  The  Spaniards  who  heard  him  believed  every 
word  he  said,  and  were  inspired  with  a  burning  desire  to 
conquer  the  vaunted  province. 

When  Coronado,  the  governor,  called  for  volunteers  to 
invade  and  subdue  the  splendid  kingdoms  of  the  north, 
nearly  every  able-bodied  young  man  in  New  Spain  re- 
sponded. Spanish  chivalry  rallied  to  the  banners  of  the 
new  crusade;  the  finest  and  largest  body  of  youthful  cava- 
liers that  had  ever  previously  assembled  in  America  came 
together  and  announced  its  readiness  for  action.  The 
governor  himself,  leaving  his  young  wife  to  the  care  of 
her  maids,  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  little  army  and 
proclaimed  that  he  would  lead  them  wherever  their  courage 
might  give  them  strength  to  follow. 

The  expedition  assembled  at  Compostella,  near  the  west- 
ern coast  of  the  province  of  Jalisco;  and  thither  came  no 
less  a  personage  than  the  viceroy  himself  to  encourage  the 
volunteers.  Each  soldier  was  required  to  swear  on  a  missal 
containing  the  four  gospels  that  he  would  obey  orders  and 
follow  his  chief,  let  the  hardships  or  the  dangers  be  ever  so 
great.  Then  with  flaunting  banners  and  shrieking  bugles, 
the  army  of  three  hundred  adventurers  marched  out  in 
columns  and  pointed  their  course  toward  the  north  star. 
Never  before  had  so  gay  a  company  gone  forth  to  hunt  for 

55 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

kingdoms  in  the  wilderness.  Part  were  on  foot,  but  the 
greater  number  were  mounted  on  the  finest  chargers  that 
the  mettled  horses  of  New  Spain  could  furnish;  and  every 
breast  swelled  with  boundless  expectations  of  glory  and 
conquest.  The  viceroy  accompanied  the  marching  column 
for  two  days,  when  he  and  his  staff,  bidding  the  soldiers 
be  of  good  heart,  returned  to  the  capital.  This  was  in  the 
midsummer  of  1540. 

Simultaneously  with  the  movement  of  the  land  column,  a 
supplementary  expedition  of  two  ships  and  a  tender  sailed 
up  the  western  coast  with  orders  to  cooperate  with  the  army. 
This  little  fleet  was  commanded  by  the  distinguished  navi- 
gator, Hernando  de  Alarcon,  to  whom  the  viceroy  had 
given  his  instructions  in  person;  for  the  whole  enterprise 
was  to  be  controlled  by  one  mind,  in  order  that  noth- 
ing might  be  left  to  doubting  chance  or  halting  perad- 
venture. 

The  gulf  of  California  was  already  known  to  Spanish 
sailors,  but  the  huge  point  of  land,  extending  down  from 
the  continent  like  the  finger  of  a  giant,  was  supposed  to  be 
an  island.  This  question  was  now  soon  to  be  set  at  rest. 
Alarcon,  entering  the  gulf,  and  favored  by  winds  that  blew 
steadily  astern,  arrived  in  due  time  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Colorado  river,  where  he  saw  beyond  question  that  South- 
ern California  was  a  peninsula.  Thankful  for  the  knowl- 
edge thus  obtained,  he  bestowed  upon  the  river  that  poured 
its  sweet  waters  down  from  the  northeast  the  grateful  name 

56 


THE  SEVEN  CITIES  OF  CIBOLA 

of  "  Our  Lady  of  Good  Guidance,"  and  proceeded  in  his 
boats  to  explore  its  limits. 

The  swift  current,  dashing  between  precipitous  banks, 
proved  to  be  a  serious  obstacle;  but  Spanish  perseverance 
is  rarely  overcome  where  gold  stands  as  a  promised  reward. 
Alarcon  and  his  little  band  toiled  on  against  the  current, 
dragging  their  boats  by  ropes  when  the  bends  of  the  river 
did  not  favor  the  southern  breeze,  until  they  reached  a 
point  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  above  its  mouth 
and  nearly  one  hundred  miles  within  the  present  boundary 
of  the  United  States.  Still  they  heard  nothing  of  the  land 
party,  with  which  they  were  expected  to  cooperate  and  to 
succor  if  occasion  required. 

The  Spaniards  and  their  boats  were  objects  of  unflag- 
ging interest  to  the  wondering  savages,  who  gathered  daily 
in  throngs  of  hundreds  along  the  banks  of  the  river  and 
silently  watched  the  sailors  at  their  work.  Many  came 
unarmed,  but  others,  less  confident  of  the  good  intentions 
of  their  strange  visitors,  brought  weapons  in  their  hands 
and  stood  ready  for  action  in  case  of  need.  Some  carried 
banners  with  singular  devices,  which  the  Spaniards  were 
told  represented  the  colors  of  different  nations.  The  men, 
naturally  tall  and  handsome,  materially  increased  their 
stature  by  wearing  lofty  crests  of  deerskin  on  their  heads, 
the  rest  of  their  bodies  being  almost  entirely  nude.  The 
women  covered  the  hips,  from  the  waist  down,  with  girdles 
of  brilliant  feathers,  supplemented  with  aprons  of  deerskin ; 

57 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

but  like  most  naked  peoples,  they  manifested  no  sense  of 
impropriety  because  of  their  lack  of  clothing.  Rude  orna- 
ments and  rings,  claws  of  bears  and  beaks  of  birds,  hung 
from  their  pierced  noses  and  ears;  while  the  warriors 
enhanced  their  fierce  aspect  by  smearing  their  faces  and 
bodies  with  paints  of  various  hues.  For  food  they  had  an 
abundance  of  the  flesh  of  animals  and  birds,  which  they 
hunted  with  bows  and  arrows  or  trapped  by  ingenious  de- 
vices; and  to  this  was  added  a  wholesome  diet  of  beans, 
pumpkins,  flat-cakes  baked  in  ashes,  and  bread  of  the  sweet 
pulp  of  the  mezquite-pod.  They  were  a  well-fed,  intelli- 
gent and  happy  people,  living  by  the  chase  and  a  primitive 
system  of  agriculture  which  had  come  down  to  them  from 
their  fathers.  Their  only  glory  was  sought  on  the  warpath 
and  as  hunters.  For  houses  they  constructed  circular  wig- 
wams, covered  with  skins,  which  are  so  familiar  to  Ameri- 
can readers;  and  which  afforded  more  comforts  and  con- 
veniences than  the  homes  of  the  people  of  Europe  did  at 
that  period. 

Alarcon,  learning  that  these  people  were  worshipers  of 
the  sun,  represented  himself  to  them  as  a  messenger  from 
that  orb,  and  gave  them  crosses  as  objects  of  worship. 
These  they  hung  in  their  noses  and  ears,  and  thus  reenforc- 
ing  the  wild  ornaments  with  which  it  was  their  custom  to 
bedeck  themselves,  they  produced  a  grotesque  if  not  weird 
appearance. 

At  length,  as  autumn  drew  near  and  no  word  came  from 

58 


THE  SEVEN  CITIES  OF  CIBOLA 

the  inland  party,  the  Spanish  commander  wrote  an  account 
of  his  discoveries,  and  depositing  it  in  a  tree  about  fifteen 
leagues  above  the  mouth  of  the  river,  returned  to  Mexico. 
In  the  meantime,  however,  Melchoir  Diaz,  an  officer  of  the 
garrison  at  Culiacan,  being  a  man  of  sense  and  having  no 
faith  in  the  extravagant  stories  which  had  been  told  about 
the  cities  of  the  plain,  had  organized  an  expedition  of 
twenty-five  men  on  his  own  account,  and  boldly  pushed  out 
toward  the  northwest  with  the  hope  of  meeting  Alarcon 
and  his  company.  On  reaching  the  head  of  the  gulf, 
and  finding  traces  of  his  countrymen,  he  followed  their 
trail  up  the  river  to  the  point  where  Alarcon  had  deposited 
the  writing  in  the  tree;  and  learning  from  this  paper  that 
they  had  returned  home,  he  continued  his  course  northward 
for  five  or  six  days.  Then  crossing  the  river  on  a  raft,  he 
explored  the  country  stretching  out  toward  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  but  died  from  the  effects  of  an  accidental  wound 
while  engaged  in  this  work.  Thus  might  be  found,  all 
over  our  country,  the  bones  of  adventurous  Spaniards  who 
gave  their  lives  as  a  sacrifice  to  their  infatuation  for  gold. 
Diaz's  party,  bereft  of  their  leader,  made  their  way  back  to 
Sonora,  where  they  dispersed  themselves  among  the  natives. 


59 


DIVISION  III. 
Wonderful  Discoveries  of  Coronado. 


Now  we  will  take  up  the  principal  and  most  interesting 
branch  of  this  remarkable  series  of  explorations,  which  was 
under  the  leadership  of  Coronado  himself.  His  move- 
ments had  been  rapid  and  daring,  but  the  fact  that  he  did 
not  adhere  to  the  original  plan  prevented  his  meeting  either 
of  the  other  parties  whose  adventures  have  just  been  re- 
cited. 

Coronado's  first  disappointment  was  encountered  on  the 
very  borders  of  the  far-famed  Cibola.  On  approaching  a 
town  to  which  the  natives  gave  the  name  of  Chichilti-Calli 
it  was  found  to  consist,  as  usual,  in  the  country  of  the 
Pueblos  and  the  Zunis,  of  a  single  large  terraced  building, 
with  walls  of  red  adobe,  embracing  numerous  apartments  or 
rooms.  The  place  had  long  been  deserted,  and  was  now  roof- 
less and  in  ruins.  Though  interesting  as  a  relic  of  a  curious 
race,  it  possessed  no  fascination  for  the  Spaniards,  whose 
chagrin  was  not  lessened  by  the  assurance  of  their  guides 
that  this  had  been  one  of  the  famous  cities  of  Cibola.  With 
maledictions  on  the  stories  which  had  so  excited  their  avari- 
cious expectations,  they  resumed  their  march  with  gloomy 

forebodings  of  the  final  outcome, 

60 


WONDERFUL  DISCOVERIES  OF  CORONADO 

After  fifteen  days  more  of  toil  through  a  barren  and 
sandy  waste,  they  came  upon  the  banks  of  a  small  but  tur- 
bulent stream,  whose  waters  being  highly  tinctured  with 
iron  were  of  a  deep  reddish  hue;  in  consequence  of  which 
Coronado  gave  to  it  the  name  of  Vermilion  river.  Its 
waters  were  so  stained  by  the  red  clay  of  the  country  as  to 
be  disagreeable  to  the  palate,  a  circumstance  which  had  the 
effect  of  intensifying  the  disgust  of  the  murmuring  wander- 
ers. 

But  they  were  now  assured  by  Niza,  the  priest,  as  well 
as  by  the  native  guides,  that  they  were  drawing  near  to  the 
chief  of  the  seven  cities  of  the  plain,  and  their  flagging 
spirits  were  again  exalted  with  expectations  which  were 
destined  never  to  be  fulfilled.  Buoyed  up  with  the  belief 
that  their  toils  were  about  to  end,  and  that  they  would  soon 
enter  into  the  possession  of  boundless  wealth,  they  trudged 
onward  with  renewed  energy  and  hope.  Scarcely  had  the 
sun  reached  its  meridian  on  the  day  following  the  discovery 
of  Vermilion  river,  when  the  shouts  of  the  vanguard  an- 
nounced that  they  were  in  sight  of  the  object  of  their  search. 
Hastening  forward  to  an  elevation,  the  whole  company 
gazed  eagerly  in  the  direction  indicated  by  the  guides,  and 
there  indeed  lay  a  town,  or  rather  a  large,  brown  structure 
of  adobes  and  undressed  stones.  But  there  were  no  minar- 
ets or  towers,  nor  houses  with  roofs  of  gold  and  silver; 
neither  were  there  any  palaces  to  be  seen  with  terraced  walls 

rising  to  the  height  of  "  many  stories."     Some  of  the 

61 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

soldiers  suggested  that  this  miserable  structure  might  be  a 
mere  outbuilding,  a  signal  station,  placed  beyond  the  walls 
of  the  great  city,  to  serve  as  a  guard-house ;  but  they  were 
assured  by  the  natives,  and  by  the  priest  himself,  that  this 
was  the  veritable  capital  of  the  empire  of  Cibola !  In  their 
hot  rage  the  disappointed  Spaniards  would  have  torn 
the  dissembling  priest  limb  from  limb;  but  falling  upon  his 
knees  he  begged  for  mercy,  and  their  inherent  respect  for 
his  cloth  restrained  the  violence  that  would  otherwise  most 
assuredly  have  been  visited  upon  him. 

They  now  turned  their  resentment  upon  the  town  itself, 
by  making  a  furious  onslaught  against  its  walls.  Standing 
upon  an  elevated  table-rock  that  rose  with  perpendicular  sides 
from  the  surrounding  plain,  and  approached  only  by  a 
single  winding  path,  the  place  might  have  been  successfully 
defended  by  a  few  resolute  soldiers;  but  its  garrison  con- 
sisting of  not  more  than  two  hundred  naked  savages,  armed 
with  bows  and  clubs,  and  therefore  incapable  of  making 
effective  resistance,  the  issue  was  necessarily  decisive  and 
quickly  reached.  Within  less  than  an  hour  the  Spaniards 
were  in  possession  of  the  town ;  but  they  found  neither  gold 
nor  silver,  nor  precious  stones.  Food  in  abundance  was 
given  them  freely  by  the  terrified  inhabitants,  but  nothing 
else  of  any  value  to  the  conquerors  was  to  be  found  in  the 
place. 

Here  Coronado  rested  his  party  for  some  days,  and  sent 

messengers  to  the  viceroy  with  information  as  to  what  he 

62 


WONDERFUL  DISCOVERIES  OF  CORONADO 

had  accomplished.  Stealing  back  with  the  couriers  went 
the  humiliated  priest,  trembling  for  his  life,  but  still  unable 
to  explain  the  hallucination  which  had  induced  him  to  in- 
flict so  grievous  a  deception  upon  his  trusting  countrymen. 
On  reaching  the  capital  in  November,  lame,  crippled  and 
worn  by  fatigue,  crestfallen  and  profoundly  depressed  by 
the  shame  which  had  fallen  to  his  lot,  Niza  sought  seclusion 
in  the  convent  of  Mexico,  where  he  pined  away  and  died 
two  years  afterward. 

Coronado  belonged  to  that  fearless  and  hopeful  class  of 
men,  who  instead  of  allowing  themselves  to  be  cast  down 
by  disappointment,  are  urged  on  to  sterner  efforts  by  every 
obstacle  that  besets  their  path.  Supported  by  such  senti- 
ments, and  believing  that  the  way  was  yet  open  for  him  to 
win  some  worthy  achievement,  he  set  about  making  the  best 
of  the  bad  conditions  which  had  fallen  to  his  lot.  While  the 
main  body  of  his  troops  rested,  he  dispatched  scouting  par- 
ties in  various  directions  to  ascertain  if  there  were  any  other 
towns  worthy  of  consideration  in  that  region.  The  men 
soon  returned  with  the  disheartening  information  that  while 
there  were  a  number  of  hamlets  and  villages  within  the 
radius  of  a  few  leagues,  they  were  all  of  the  same  general 
character,  and  none  of  them  quite  equal  in  importance  to 
the  place  which  they  then  occupied.  The  natives  whom  the 
scouts  had  met  were  poor  in  worldly  goods  and  so  destitute 
of  that  spirit  which  brave  men  ought  to  possess,  that  instead 
of  opposing  the  progress  of  their  enemies,  they  sought  to 

63 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

propitiate  them  with  presents  of  maize,  dressed  skins,  and 
cotton  cloth,  various  specimens  of  which  were  submitted  to 
the  commander. 

Finding  that  there  was  nothing  to  be  gained  by  scouring 
the  vaunted  empire  of  Cibola,  Coronado  resolved  upon  the 
bold  expedient  of  exploring  the  country  into  which  he  had 
been  led  by  the  alluring  stories  of  fanciful  minds.  His  first 
step  was  the  sending  of  an  expedition,  under  a  trusted  lieu- 
tenant named  Garci  Lopez  de  Cardenas,  to  ascertain  the 
sources  of  the  rivers  that  flowed  from  the  northeast  into  the 
Gulf  of  California.  The  route  selected  by  Cardenas  lay 
through  the  country  of  the  Moqui  Indians,  who  inhabited 
villages  similar  to  those  of  the  Pueblos,  and  who  in  other  re- 
spects showed  themselves  to  be  a  branch  of  the  same  people. 
For  twenty  days  the  party  traveled  northward  through  a 
desolate  region,  strewn  thick  with  volcanic  ruins  and  pro- 
ducing nothing  more  than  a  few  dwarf  pine  trees,  until 
they  came  to  a  high  tableland,  where  the  waters  of  the 
Colorado  cleft  an  abyss  through  the  bosom  of  the  rocks  in 
their  mad  effort  to  reach  the  sea.  As  the  wondering  Span- 
iards stood  upon  the  brink  of  the  precipice  and  gazed  down 
into  the  tremendous  depths,  they  computed  the  distance  to  be 
greater  than  that  of  the  loftiest  mountains;  and  their  esti- 
mates were  not  in  the  least  extravagant,  as  later  investiga- 
tions and  measurements  have  shown.  The  torrent  dashing 
along  the  bottom  of  this  tremendous  chasm  appeared  to 
the  men  looking  upon  it  like  a  silver  thread  winding  its 

64 


WONDERFUL  DISCOVERIES  OF  CORONADO 

sinous  course  between  the  feet  of  two  immense  cliffs, 
with  now  and  then  a  tiny  valley  of  green  on  either  side 
glowing  far  down  in  the  dim  light  like  a  speck  of  emerald. 
Two  of  the  Spaniards,  attracted  by  the  peculiar  appearance 
of  a  singularly  formed  rock,  seemingly  no  taller  than  a  man, 
lowered  themselves  from  ledge  to  ledge  half-way  down  the 
side  of  the  chasm,  and  then  returned  with  the  astounding 
story  that  the  block  of  stone  was  taller  than  the  spire  of  the 
cathedral  at  Seville ! 

Cardenas  and  his  party  explored  the  region  quite 
thoroughly,  meeting  at  every  turn  some  new  evidence  of  the 
wonderful  handiwork  of  nature.  One  of  the  remarkable 
features  of  this  extraordinary  region  consists  in  the  fact  that 
the  country,  through  which  the  rivers  and  their  confluent 
streams  have  plowed  their  courses  by  ages  of  erosion,  is  in 
its  general  aspects  a  treeless  plain,  formed  into  a  succession 
of  gigantic  terraces,  whose  barriers  rise  in  serried  cliffs  to 
the  height  of  a  thousand  feet  or  more ;  while  in  the  Grand 
Caflon  of  the  Colorado  the  walls  that  confine  the  river  soar 
to  the  astonishing  altitude  of  four  thousand  to  seven  thou- 
sand feet! 

No  one  can  fully  appreciate  the  almost  inconceivable 
grandeur  of  these  tremendous  examples  of  nature's  handi- 
work, without  beholding  them  with  his  own  eyes.  The 
channel  of  the  river  as  it  roars  through  the  narrow  abyss, 
varies  from  fifty  to  three  hundred  feet  in  width;  in  many 
places  it  leaps  down  vertical  walls  of  a  hundred  feet  or  more, 

65 


producing  a  series  of  cataracts  of  the  most  splendid  and 
wonderful  aspect,  while  in  others  it  tears  madly  along  a 
sloping  bed  whose  incline  averages  as  much  as  two  hundred 
feet  per  mile. 

Numerous  tributary  streams  have  cut  their  angular 
courses  through  the  adjoining  plateau,  forming  a  succes- 
sion of  collateral  crevices  whose  frightful  grandeur  must  be 
seen  to  be  appreciated.  Each  rivulet  has  its  own  winding 
canon,  intersected  by  innumerable  tributary  gashes,  until  the 
topography  of  the  adjacent  country  becomes  almost  too 
intricate  for  comprehension. 

Generally  the  cliffs  rise  perpendicularly  from  the  margins 
of  the  stream,  but  occasionally,  in  some  unexpected  bend  or 
eddy  of  the  river,  will  be  found  a  tiny  valley  covered  with 
trees  and  luxuriant  with  succulent  grasses.  Here  it  was  the 
custom  of  the  wild  inhabitants  of  the  plain,  who  alone  knew 
the  devious  paths4  that  led  to  these  secluded  levels,  to  fix 
their  habitations  and  plant  their  little  fields  of  beans  and 
corn,  and  dream  away  the  fleeting  days  fishing  for  the 
speckled  trout  that  sported  in  the  agitated  waters. 

As  the  Spaniards  moved  about  the  country,  they  were 
surprised  to  find,  both  on  the  loftier  and  lower  plateaus  of 
the  terraced  plain,  numerous  massive  ruins  of  once  populous 
towns  and  cities,  which  had  been  inhabited  by  a  people  of 
liberal  ideas  and  advanced  civilization.  They  are  now 
known  to  have  been  the  Toltecs,  that  superb  race  of  schol- 
ars and  warriors  who  migrated  into  Mexico  about  the 

66 


A  MOKI  ULLAGE  DISCOVERED  BY  CO  RON  A  DO. 

||VrEBLO  villages  of  the  Moki  tribe  never  consisted  of  detached  houses,  but  com- 
ll*^  prised  a  compact  mass,  so  to  speak,  of  adobe  structures,  which  were  built  to 
afford  protection  from  enemies  rather  than  to  provide  comfort  for  the  occupants. 
These  village  squares  were  usually  two  or  three  stories  in  height,  in  the  form  of 
steps,  and  as  they  had  neither  doors  nor  windows  the  inside  was  gained  through 
an  opening  in  the  roof,  which  was  reached  by  ladders,  drawn  up  when  not  in  use. 
Coronado  discovered  several  such  villages,  of  which  he  gives  an  explicit  descrip- 
tion in  the  report  of  hi*  exploration*  in  the  southwest. 


most  splendid  and 

s  madly  along  a 

.verages  as  much  as  two  hundred 

c    their    angular 

-g  a  succes- 

leur  must  be 

•wn  winding' 

•'  the 

• 

•  ' 


- 

1       •  ••*&tef«Wft8  IflttMP 

•/els,  'to 
leir  little  f- 
fleeting 

. 

e  popuk- 

n  the  1  ace  of  ? 

about  the 


WONDERFUL  DISCOVERIES  OF  CORONADO 

seventh  century  of  the  Christian  era,  and  subdued  the 
weaker  nations  whom  they  found  subsisting  there.  They 
were  experts  also  in  the  arts  of  agriculture,  weaving,  stone- 
cutting  and  architecture ;  and  they  fashioned  tools  and  weap- 
ons out  of  a  compound  of  copper  and  tin,  with  edges  as 
keen  and  durable  as  steel.  They  likewise  possessed  a 
liberal  knowledge  of  astronomy,  had  established  divi- 
sions of  time,  and  left  definite  records  of  their  achieve- 
ments in  the  hieroglyphic  and  picture  writings  that  were 
inherited  by  their  successors,  the  more  modern  but  less 
admirable  Aztecs  and  Mexicans  who  composed  the  ruling 
races  at  the  time  of  the  Spanish  invasion. 

The  Toltecs  were  sun-worshipers  and  adepts  in  serpent 
mysticism,  facts  which  point  indubitably  to  their  Oriental 
origin.  The  cause  of  their  migration  southward  is  un- 
known, but  it  was  probably  due  to  volcanic  convulsions 
which  altered  the  face  and  conditions  of  their  country. 
In  Mexico  they  founded  a  great  empire,  having  an  estab- 
lished nobility  and  priesthood,  and  built  splendid  capitals 
at  Colhuacan,  Otompan,  Tollan,  and  elsewhere.  About  the 
eleventh  century  the  monarchy  was  rent  by  civil  wars  be- 
tween the  clergy  and  the  nobles,  which,  combined  with  the 
kindred  evils  of  pestilence  and  famine,  drove  the  remnant  of 
the  people  still  further  south,  into  Guatemala  and  Yucatan, 
where  in  the  dying  throes  of  their  nationality  they  left 
monuments  to  the  grandeur  of  their  race  that  will  ever  re- 
main objects  of  wonder  and  admiration  to  present  and  future 

69 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

generations  of  mankind.  Americans  have  no  occasion  to 
visit  Europe  in  quest  of  antiquities,  since  we  have  those  in 
our  own  country  which  surpass  anything  that  can  be  found 
on  the  continents  of  the  Old  World. 

While  Cardenas  and  his  party  were  still  absent  during 
that  memorable  summer  of  1540,  Coronado  received  a 
visit  from  a  deputation  of  dignified  chiefs,  who  explained 
that  they  came  from  a  country  far  toward  the  rising  sun, 
to  which  they  gave  the  name  of  Cicuyi.  There  they  said 
the  green  plains  were  covered  with  cattle  whose  hair  was 
soft  and  curling  like  wool;  and  several  of  the  chiefs  wore 
robes  made  of  the  skins  of  those  animals,  which,  soft  and 
pliable  as  the  finest  cloth,  hung  from  their  stately  shoulders 
with  the  grace  of  a  Roman  toga. 

The  chiefs  were  most  liberally  entertained  for  a  period 
of  several  days,  and  on  their  departure  a  small  party  of 
Spaniards,  under  Hernando  Alvarado,  accompanied  them 
back  to  their  own  country.  This  was  the  first  expedition 
to  make  its  way  into  the  historic  precincts  of  the  Louisiana 
Purchase,  whereby  it  becomes  entitled  to  a  place  in  this 
work. 

In  five  days  they  arrived  at  a  town  called,  in  the  Indian 
tongue,  Acoma,  located  on  the  summit  of  a  lofty  rock, 
which  could  be  ascended  only  by  means  of  steps  cut  in  the 
face  of  the  cliff.  It  was  a  natural  fortress  which  might 
have  been  successfully  defended  against  thousands  by  a 
handful  of  brave  men.  The  top  of  the  rock  expanded  into 

70 


WONDERFUL  DISCOVERIES  OF  CORONA  DO 

a  level  plateau  of  several  acres,  where  the  inhabitants  grew 
their  pumpkins,  maize  and  beans;  and  being  thus  supplied 
with  food  of  their  own  raising,  it  would  have  been  a  diffi- 
cult matter  to  starve  them  out  by  the  processes  of  a  siege. 
The  rock  was  destitute  of  springs  of  water,  but  the  people 
had  supplied  the  defect  by  digging  numerous  artificial  cis- 
terns, which  gave  them  a  supply  of  wholesome  water  at  all 
seasons  of  the  year.  These  people  were  a  sturdy  race  of 
hunters  and  warriors,  but  lacked  the  refining  characteristics 
of  the  more  civilized  nations  to  the  southward.  The  Span- 
iards were  now  coming  in  touch  with  the  true  North  Ameri- 
can Indians,  who,  though  rude  and  turbulent,  were  one  of 
the  most  interesting  races  of  which  history  gives  us  any 
account. 

Three  days  further  progress  brought  the  party  into  the 
valley  of  the  Rio  Grande,  a  short  distance  below  the  present 
site  of  Albuquerque,  in  New  Mexico;  and  near  the  end  of 
the  following  week,  still  pushing  their  way  northeastwardly, 
they  came  to  the  banks  of  the  Pecos  river.  Here  they  met 
an  Indian  who  had  traveled  much,  and  whose  imagination 
was  of  a  like  expansive  character  with  his  wanderings.  He 
gave  the  Spaniards  a  glowing  account  of  a  wonderful  coun- 
try still  further  toward  the  rising  sun,  called  in  his  language 
Quivira,  composed  of  vast  fertile  plains  that  were  peopled 
only  by  a  few  wandering  tribes  of  hunters,  a  fierce  race  of 
men  who  would  resent  any  invasion  of  their  rights.  Ac- 
cording to  this  Indian's  account,  Quivira  was  the  real  land 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

of  the  buffalo ;  and  his  story  so  far  was  subsequently  verified 
by  the  facts.  But  on  being  further  pressed,  he  felt  obliged 
to  sustain  his  reputation,  even  though  he  drew  largely  upon 
his  own  inner  consciousness.  He  accordingly  asserted  that 
the  land  of  Quivira  abounded  in  gold  and  silver,  until  those 
precious  metals  were  almost  as  common  as  the  rocks  and  as 
plentiful  as  the  leaves  on  the  trees.  It  is  to  be  presumed 
that  he  had  never  seen  a  piece  of  gold  or  silver  in  his  life, 
but  he  could  plainly  observe  that  the  subject  was  deeply  in- 
teresting to  his  auditors,  and  he  accordingly  gave  them  what 
they  seemed  to  prefer.  He  described  also  a  great  river  run- 
ning through  that  country,  whose  turbid  and  "  smoky  " 
waters  devoured  the  banks  along  its  course  and  ate  up  great 
trees.  This  river,  he  asserted,  was  six  miles  in  width,  and 
the  whole  country  was  watered  by  it  and  its  tributaries.  Its 
current  was  so  rapid  that  a  buffalo  at  full  speed  could  not 
keep  abreast  of  its  waves  as  they  rolled  toward  the  sea.  If 
we  look  behind  the  hyperbole,  it  is  not  difficult  to  recognize 
the  Missouri  in  this  description,  for  its  waters  are  "  smoky," 
and  it  is  a  well  known  fact  that  it  devours  both  land  and 
trees  along  its  course. 

The  Spaniards  were  profoundly  interested  in  the  red 
man's  story,  but  as  cold  weather  was  now  at  hand,  Alvarado 
resolved  to  go  into  winter  quarters  and  postpone  any  fur- 
ther movement  until  the  opening  of  spring.  In  December 
he  was  joined  by  Coronado  himself  with  the  main  body  of 

the  command.     The  general  had  made  an  extended  tour  to- 

72 


WONDERFUL  DISCOVERIES  OF  CORONADO 

ward  the  southeast,  as  far  as  the  Rio  Grande  river,  near  the 
present  site  of  El  Paso;  whence  he  turned  his  steps  north- 
ward and  fortunately  struck  the  trail  of  Alvarado  and  his 
party. 

The  country  he  had  explored  was  sparsely  inhabited  by 
a  people  similar  in  appearance  and  customs  to  the  Pueblos. 
Like  the  latter  they  dwelt  in  terraced  villages  and  lived  by 
agriculture  and  the  chase.  They  were  exceedingly  hospit- 
able to  the  Spaniards,  not  only  supplying  them  with  food 
and  affording  them  rest  and  shelter  in  their  houses,  but 
they  sent  guides  to  direct  them  on  their  way.  Although 
the  country  was  too  cold  to  grow  cotton,  Coronado  observed 
that  mantles  of  that  material  constituted  the  universal  dress 
of  the  people,  and  cotton  yarn  was  found  in  every  house.  It 
was  spun  on  rude  distaffs  by  the  women  and  girls,  who  were 
not  only  industrious,  but  modest,  pretty  and  virtuous  as 
well.  The  Spaniards  were  surprised  to  see  that  the  natives 
had  domesticated  Guinea  fowls,  though  they  did  not  learn 
the  source  from  whence  the  original  stock  came.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  several  varieties  of  beans  which  constituted  so 
universal  a  diet  among  all  American  aborigines,  those  living 
in  the  Valley  of  the  Rio  Grande  also  cultivated  a  very  ex- 
cellent quality  of  peas.  Fruit  of  several  varieties  was 
abundant,  and  it  formed  one  of  the  staple  articles  of  food 
among  the  inhabitants. 

The  camp  on  the  Pecos  was  maintained  until  after  the 
middle  of  April,  1541,  when  the  grass  having  once  more 

73 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

covered  the  hills  with  its  carpet  of  green,  the  Spaniards 
resumed  their  long  march  in  quest  of  gold.  The  Indian 
who  had  proved  himself  so  fine  a  story-teller  continued  to 
act  as  their  guide,  and  led  them  steadily  onward  in  a  north- 
easterly direction.  They  soon  crossed  the  trail  of  Cabeza 
de  Vaca  on  the  Canadian  river,  near  the  present  western 
border  of  Oklahoma;  and  on  the  ninth  day  they  reached  a 
country  of  boundless  prairies,  where  there  were  many  pools 
of  water  so  strongly  impregnated  with  salt  as  to  be  bitter 
to  the  taste. 

But  the  Spaniards  were  amused  and  interested  more  than 
anything  else  with  ..the  myriads  of  little  brown  dogs,  which 
they  found  burrowing  in  mounds  of  their  own  construction 
all  over  the  face  of  the  country.  The  Indians  knew  this 
little  animal  by  the  poetic  title  of  "  Wistonwish,"  but  the 
Spaniards  gave  it  'the  name  by  which  it  has  since  been 
known — prairie  dog — in  consequence  of  a  fancied  resem- 
blance in  its  chatter  to  the  bark  of  a  small  canine.  Their 
houses  were  built  in  clusters  or  villages,  with  a  good  deal 
of  regularity;  and  "  dog  towns  "  seemed  an  appropriate  title 
for  these  singular  communities.  The  burrows  often  ex- 
tended for  miles  in  every  direction,  and  were  so  deep  that 
the  Spaniards  found  it  dangerous  to  ride  their  horses  among 
them.  But  there  was  another  peril  which  they  dreaded  far 
more  than  this.  The  little  dogs — whether  from  choice  or 
necessity  is  not  very  clear — shared  their  underground  cot- 
tages with  vicious  rattlesnakes,  to  such  an  extent  that  their 

74 


WONDERFUL  DISCOVERIES  OF  CORONADO 

villages  were  literally  infested  by  those  hideous  reptiles, 
whose  busy  rattles,  like  the  buzzing  of  a  swarm  of  bees,  noti- 
fied the  travelers  of  their  dangerous  proximity.  Owls  and 
bats,  availing  themselves  also  of  the  hospitality  of  the  good- 
natured  little  rodents,  intruded  themselves  into  their  homes 
in  such  numbers  that  the  towns  became  veritable  clens  of 
horror. 

The  explorers  studied  the  habits  of  the  prairie  dog  with 
profound  interest,  this  being  their  first  acquaintance  with  the 
remarkable  little  creature.  Around  the  entrance  to  each  bur- 
row the  earth  was  heaped  up  to  the  height  of  about  eighteen 
inches,  on  the  flat  top  of  which  it  was  the  custom  of  the 
head  of  the  household  to  seat  himself  during  the  day,  and 
especially  in  the  evening,  and  carefully  observe  all  that  took 
place  in  the  community.  This  appeared  to  be  one  of  their 
social  customs.  But  at  the  first  intimation  of  danger  each 
watchful  sentinel  would  dart  into  his  hole  with  a  comical, 
tumbling  motion  that  was  highly  amusing  to  the  interested 
travelers;  and  immediately  afterward  their  little  heads 
would  be  seen  peering  above  the  mounds  to  ascertain  if  the 
danger  was  past.  They  were  so  quick  of  motion  and  re- 
mained so  near  their  homes,  that  the  Spaniards  found  it  im- 
possible to  secure  them  alive,  and  it  was  exceedingly  diffi- 
cult even  to  shoot  them  with  their  harquebuses  and  cross- 
bows. They  were  greatly  pleased  with  the  flesh  of  the 
little  animal,  which  they  found  to  be  tender,  fat  and  juicy; 
and  they  feasted  on  it  plentifully  after  their  long  abstinence. 

75 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

In  the  course  of  a  few  days  the  progress  of  the  explorers 
brought  them  into  the  range  of  the  American  bison,  or  buf- 
falo, where  they  also  met  a  class  of  natives  different  from 
any  others  with  whom  they  had  yet  formed  an  acquaintance. 
These  were  a  nomadic  people,  living  almost  exclusively  on 
the  products  of  the  chase,  and  migrating  with  the  move- 
ments of  the  herds.  Their  habitations  consisted  of  teepees, 
or  wigwams,  conical  in  shape,  formed  by  setting  a  num- 
ber of  poles  in  a  circle  and  slanting  them  upward  until 
the  tops  came  together,  where  they  were  confined  by  thongs 
of  buffalo  hide.  The  poles  were  then  covered  with  skins 
of  the  same  animal,  a  small  opening  being  left  at  the  top 
through  which  the  smoke  ascended  from  a  fire  kindled  in 
the  center  of  the  lodge.  They  had  no  domestic  animals 
except  the  dog,  a  species  of  wolf  which  they  had  tamed  and 
bred  to  their  own  uses.  The  natural  instincts  of  the  crea- 
tures made  them  excellent  guards  for  the  villages  at  night, 
and  during  the  day  they  roamed  the  prairies  in  quest  of 
game.  They  also  served  as  beasts  of  burden,  having  been 
taught  by  their  masters  to  drag  the  poles  and  skins  of  the 
wigwams  in  the  frequent  migrations  of  the  tribes.  The 
horse  was  a  later  acquisition  of  these  savages,  derived  from 
the  Spaniards,  and  in  the  management  of  which  they  be- 
came very  expert.  The  women,  or  squaws,  were  treated  as 
slaves  and  drudges,  performing  all  the  work  that  was  done 
about  the  villages  and  on  their  hunts,  and  frequently  assist- 
ing the  dogs  in  dragging  the  poles  of  the  teepees.  Their 

76 


TO L  TEC  INDIAN  SNAKE  DANCE. 

E  Toltecs  are  supposed  to  have  been  the  dominant  Mexican  race  before  the 
advent  of  the  Aztecs,  and  the  founding  of  the  Quiche  Empire,  in  Guatemala, 
is  credited  to  them.  There  is  no  certain  knowledge  respecting  them,  however. 
Their  descendants  are  scattered  among  the  pueblo  tribes,  and  a  re  even  more  degen- 
erate from  a  noble  ancestry  than  are  the  Moors.  They  practice  a  religion  in  which 
snakes  have  a  prominent  place,  and  in  their  observances  they  sometimes  execute  a 
dance  that  requires  participants  to  take  a  snake  in  the  mouth  and  hold  the  squirm- 
ing reptile  while  the  dancers  shout,  shake  their  heads  and  jump  about  in  a  circle, 
a  practice  no  white  man  has  ever  been  able  to  understand. 


. 

• 

• 
.-V.Y/ 

t&  no] 

dsrnBtEijf  .> 

' 

• 
. 
. 

4 

.,^bii 


WONDERFUL  DISCOVERIES  OF  CORONADO 

lot  was  a  hard  and  thankless  one,  and  the  lives  they  led  were 
scarcely  worth  the  living.  It  was  a  common,  if  not  an  al- 
most daily  occurrence,  for  them  to  be  required  to  submit  to 
brutal  chastisements  at  the  hands  of  their  masters,  which 
they  endured  without  complaint,  well  knowing  that  remon- 
strance would  only  increase  the  severity  of  their  punishment. 
Their  own  children  were  taught  to  abuse  them  in  like  man- 
ner, as  soon  as  they  were  old  enough  to  assert  their  superior- 
ity. The  women  had  no  escape  from  the  fate  to  which  they 
had  been  assigned,  except  in  death,  and  as  a  result  of  this 
state  of  affairs  suicide  was  no  uncommon  thing  among  them. 
The  men  scorned  to  turn  their  hands  to  any  kind  of  work, 
or  to  lend  the  least  assistance  to  the  women  in  the  perform- 
ance of  the  menial  duties  required  of  them. 

As  the  Spaniards  continued  their  advance  into  the  coun- 
try now  embraced  within  the  borders  of  Oklahoma  and 
Kansas,  they  found  themselves  in  the  midst  of  the  great 
American  prairies,  which,  unbroken  by  a  single  tree  or  bush, 
extend  to  the  horizon  in  every  direction.  It  is  true,  there 
were  some  fringes  of  forest  in  the  ravines  and  along  the 
water  courses,  but  these  could  be  seen  only  on  a  near  ap- 
proach to  the  verge  of  the  declivities,  down  which  there 
were  numerous  buffalo  paths  leading  to  the  fords  and  water- 
ing places.  The  hills  lay  in  parallel  ranges  of  lofty  ridges, 
formed  almost  with  the  regularity  of  the  columns  of  an 
army;  and  the  dark  green  of  their  grassy  sides  and  sloping 
tops  reminded  the  Spaniards  of  the  rolling  waves  of  the  sea. 

79 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

Over  these  expanses  roamed  great  herds  of  buffaloes, 
whose  range  then  embraced  nearly  the  whole  of  the  North 
American  continent,  from  the  Hudson  river  and  Lake 
Champlain  to  the  Rocky  mountains.  They  were  the  cattle 
of  the  Indians,  who  prized  them  according  to  their  worth; 
for  the  red  people  were  dependent  upon  them  for  nearly 
every  comfort  and  convenience  that  they  enjoyed.  Their 
flesh  constituted  almost  their  only  article  of  food;  while 
their  skins  supplied  them  with  clothing,  with  covers  for 
their  houses,  and  moccasins  for  their  feet.  The  sinews 
were  drawn  into  bow-strings,  and  the  droppings  of  the 
animals  when  dried  in  the  sun,  formed  the  fuel  with  which 
their  fires  were  replenished. 

The  Spaniards  studied  the  habits  of  these  curious  beasts 
wonderingly  and4  with  no  little  apprehension;  for  when 
they  moved  from  one  pasture  to  another  their  progress 
often  developed  into  a  wild  stampede,  which  nothing  could 
hinder  or  stay.  At  such  times  they  tore  over  the  ground 
in  droves  of  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands,  with  the 
speed  of  race  horses  and  a  noise  that  could  be  heard  for 
many  miles.  The  earth  trembled  under  the  tread  of  their 
hoofs;  the  sound  of  their  headlong  flight  was  like  the  roar 
of  a  tornado.  It  is  impossible  to  depict  the  awful  grandeur 
of  such  a  scene.  If  any  living  thing  came  in  their  way  it 
was  crushed  and  mangled  and  trodden  into  the  earth.  It 
was  no  uncommon  thing  for  droves  of  these  infatuated 

beasts  to  plunge  down  cliffs  and  precipices  that  came  in 

80 


WONDERFUL  DISCOVERIES  OF  CO  RON  ADO 

their  way,  the  masses  in  the  rear  driving  those  in  front 
irresistibly  onward  to  their  own  destruction.  In  this  way 
many  thousands  were  killed.  During  the  summer-time, 
their  mating  season,  the  males  manifest  toward  each  other 
the  most  malevolent  hatred.  Their  daily  battles,  many  of 
which  were  witnessed  by  the  Spaniards,  were  frightful 
exhibitions  of  brute  ferocity.  On  such  occasions  they 
rushed  together  with  the  impact  of  battering  rams,  and  their 
bellowings  echoed  over  the  prairies  like  hoarse  thunder.  A 
bull  fight  in  Spain,  with  all  its  horrors  and  cruelties,  is  a 
tame  affair  compared  with  one  of  those  wild  exhibitions  on 
the  plains  of  North  America. 

The  general  aspect  of  the  bull  buffalo  gives  him  an  ap- 
pearance of  extreme  ferocity;  but  this  is  only  outward 
show,  for  his  disposition,  like  other  species  of  the  ox  family, 
is  pacific.  He  is  easily  tamed  if  taken  while  young,  and  in 
that  condition  is  as  docile  as  any  domestic  animal.  No 
buffalo  was  ever  known  to  attack  a  human  being  except 
when  wounded  or  forced  into  a  position  where  he  could  not 
escape  without  fighting. 

As  already  stated,  the  flesh  of  the  buffalo  constituted 
almost  the  entire  food  supply  of  the  plains  Indians,  and 
large  parties  of  them  joined  in  their  annual  hunts  when  the 
beasts  were  slain  and  the  meat  cured  or  dried  for  winter  use. 
Every  portion  of  the  carcass  was  converted  into  food; 
nothing  was  allowed  to  go  to  waste.  The  tongues  and  the 
marrow  bones  were  regarded  as  special  delicacies,  and  the 

81 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

hump  over  the  shoulders  was  also  a  favorite  portion.  When 
cooked  in  the  Indian  fashion  this  was  regarded  as  a  most 
exquisite  delicacy.  It  was  done  by  rolling  the  meat  in 
a  piece  of  green  hide  and  baking  it  in  an  earth  oven,  where 
a  fire  had  been  previously  kindled,  and  over  which  another 
fire  was  kept  burning  until  the  flesh  was  thoroughly  done. 
Such  a  dish  was  regarded  as  the  finest  feast  that  could  be 
set  before  a  company  of  chiefs  and  warriors. 

The  savages  were  as  careful  of  their  herds  of  buffaloes 
as  the  farmer  is  of  his  flocks.  Although  millions  of  them 
browsed  on  the  plains,  no  Indian  ever  slew  one  in  mere 
wantonness.  It  was  different,  however,  when  the  white 
man  appeared  on  the  scene.  Then  the  animals  were  hunted 
and  slaughtered  for  sport,  so-called.  They  were  killed  for 
the  love  of  killing  or  for  their  hides,  horns  and  bones,  until 
the  race  is  now  extinct,  except  for  the  few  specimens  that 
the  Government  has  preserved  in  the  National  Park  of 
Wyoming.  Such  a  fact  is  not  complimentary  to  our  civil- 
ization. 

Having  marched  well  within  the  present  borders  of 
Kansas,  Coronado  selected  a  small  band  of  his  most 
resolute  men,  and  dismissing  the  rest  with  orders  to 
return  home,  he  continued  his  progress  in  the  same  direc- 
tion which  he  had  so  long  pursued.  For  forty-two  days 
he  kept  steadily  on  his  course,  over  the  rolling  prairie  hills 
which  afforded  but  little  change  or  diversity  of  scenery  j 
until  at  length  he  came  to  a  stream  of  considerable  propor- 

82 


A  VILLAGE  OF  NOMADIC  INDIANS  /.V  THE 
ARKANSAS  COUNTRY. 


explorers  of  North  America  speak  of  the  great  numbers  of  Indians  which 
*  were  met  with  in  what  are  now  the  Southern  States,  when  indeed  the  native 
population  was  larger  than  it  was  found  to  be  in  any  other  part  of  jhe  country. 
Fighting  for  occupation  of  the  land  accordingly  began  as  soon  as-  Nacvaez  and 
DeSoto  set  foot  upon  southern  shores,  nor  were  the  Indians  driven  from  their 
heritages  by  the  advance  of  civiliration  -mtil  the  power  of  the  Sernioples  jmtt 
Creeks  was  broken  by  the  merciless  blows  dealt  them  by  Jacksori.Tind'  Harney, 
The  scene  which  is  here  pictorially  depicted  shows  an  ideal  Indian  village,  siicri 
as  dotted  the  landscape  many  years  ago  from  Louisiana  to  Montana,  affording  an 
idea  of  the  perils  that  confronted  settlers  of  the  west. 


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WONDERFUL  DISCOVERIES  OF  CORONADO 

tions,  with  clear  water  and  a  rapid  current,  which  is  now 
known  to  have  been  the  Kansas  or  Kaw  river.  Crossing 
this  he  continued  his  march,  and  in  a  few  days  came  upon 
the  banks  of  the  great  "  smoky"  river  of  which  the  Indian 
guide  had  told  him.  It  was  less  than  a  third  of  a  league 
in  width,  but  it  rushed  along  with  a  mighty  current,  and 
ate  up  the  banks  and  devoured  trees,  as  the  Indian  had  as- 
serted. This  was  the  Missouri  river,  and  the  point  where 
the  Spaniards  came  to  it,  being  about  the  4Oth  degree  of 
north  latitude — if  Coronado  made  no  mistake  in  his  calcu- 
lations— must  have  been  near  where  the  city  of  St.  Joseph 
now  stands.  Or  it  may  have  been  near  Atchison,  in  Kan- 
sas. This  is  a  matter  of  deep  interest,  for  the  event  oc- 
curred before  the  middle  of  the  i6th  century.  It  was  a 
daring  adventure  on  the  part  of  the  Spaniards,  to  penetrate 
so  far  into  an  unknown  country,  inhabited  by  savages  of 
the  fiercest  disposition  and  infested  by  wild  beasts  that 
were  both  ferocious  and  dangerous.  Our  sincere  admira- 
tion cannot  be  withheld  from  men  who  had  the  courage  and 
fortitude  to  venture  so  far,  even  though  the  moving  incentive 
was  the  love  of  gold. 

The  Spaniards  found  no  evidence  of  the  precious  metals 
in  the  countries  through  which  they  passed.  It  was  a  well- 
watered  and  fertile  land,  with  a  strong  black  soil  that  pro- 
duced luxuriant  grasses  in  abundance;  and  near  the  great 
river  they  found  dense  forests  of  oak,  walnut  and  hickory 
trees,  that  bore  nuts  of  delicious  flavor.  Wild  grapes 

85 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

abounded  also,  and  there  were  mulberries  and  plums  like 
those  that  grew  in  Spain.  But  the  inhabitants  possessed 
nothing  that  could  be  of  any  value  to  civilized  white  men; 
and  they  knew  nothing  whatever  about  the  white  and  yel- 
low metals.  Not  a  single  ornament  of  gold  or  silver  was 
to  be  found  among  them;  but  they  possessed  a  few  orna- 
ments of  copper  and  some  tools  and  weapons  of  the  same 
metal.  It  was  learned  that  the  copper  had  been  obtained 
by  barter  from  tribes  living  far  toward  the  north,  in  the 
land  of  the  snow;  but  it  did  not  exist  in  the  country  that 
had  been  traversed  by  the  Spaniards.  Indeed,  they  could 
not  hear  of  any  minerals  in  that  region.  It  was  to  them, 
therefore,  a  barren  and  profitless  land,  unfit  for  coloniza- 
tion and  scarcely  worth  the  attention  of  a  nation  which 
had  conquered  such  countries  as  Mexico  and  Peru.  But 
Coronado  took  possession  of  the  wilderness  in  the  name  of 
the  Spanish  monarch,  and  erected  a  cross  on  the  bank  of 
the  river,  bearing  this  inscription :  "  Thus  far  came  the 
general,  Francisco  Vasquez  de  Coronado."  And  that  point 
was  destined  to  remain  the  high-water  mark  of  exploration 
in  the  Louisiana  Purchase  country  for  many  years  to  come. 
Coronado  continued  his  travels  until  the  spring  of  1542, 
when  he  set  out  on  his  return  to  New  Spain ;  but  on  reach- 
ing a  point  near  the  Rio  Grande  he  was  thrown  from  his 
horse  and  received  a  wound  on  the  head  of  such  severity 
that  it  is  said  to  have  resulted  in  insanity.  Whether  this 

is  true  or  not,  the  fact  that  he  failed  to  discover  another 

86 


CORONA  DO  DISCOVERING  THE  MISSOURI. 

BEFORE  the  middle  of  the  Sixteenth  Century(about  1541)  a  party  of  resolute 
Spaniards  accomplished  a  partial  exploration  of  the  west,  having  made  a 
journey  from  the  Texas  coast  through  New  Mexico,  Indian  Territory,  and  Kansas, 
and  finally  reached  a  point  supposedly  opposite  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  cky  of 
St.  Joseph,  Missouri,  thus  being  the  first  white  discoverers  of  the  Missouri  river. 
Upon  this  spot  a  cross  was  erected  upon  which  the  following  inscription  was 
placed.  "This  far  came  the  General,  Francisco  Vasquez  d«  Coronado." 


VLVSVA 

G  (i^j 


• 

- 


WONDERFUL  DISCOVERIES  OF  CORONADO 

Peru  made  him  very  unpopular  with  the  ruling  class  of 
Spaniards;  and  brooding  over  the  injustice  that  was  meted 
out  to  him,  he  fell  into  a  decline  and  died  soon  after  reach- 
ing home. 

Years  afterwards  Spanish  settlements  extended  gradually 
northward  into  Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  but  they  made  no 
further  efforts  to  explore  the  regions  traversed  by  Coronado 
and  his  companions.  When  the  viceroy  suggested  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  colony  there,  the  general  replied  that  he  did 
not  wish  to  leave  any  of  his  people  in  so  poor  a  country  at 
so  great  a  distance  from  succor;  and  thus  the  matter  passed 
out  of  memory.  In  the  course  of  time  the  legend  of  the 
"  Seven  Cities  of  Cibola  "  was  forgotten,  except  by  scholars 
and  antiquarians  who  were  interested  in  delving  into  the 
past. 

But  three  centuries  later  another  race,  more  virile  and  en- 
terprising, came  upon  the  scene,  whose  industry  made  the 
prairies  blossom  like  the  rose,  and  caused  them  to  bring  forth 
grains  and  fruits  whose  annual  values  amount  to  more  than 
all  the  gold  that  Spain  ever  drew  from  the  mines  of  Mexico 
and  Peru  combined. 


DIVISION  IV. 
De  Solo's  Expedition  into  Florida. 


FERNANDO  DE  SOTO,  born  about  1496,  was  a  native  of 
the  Spanish  town  of  Xeres,  in  the  province  of  Estremadura, 
a  place  that  has  no  position  on  modern  maps,  and  should  not 
be  confused  with  the  more  important  town  of  Xerez,  in  the 
province  of  Andalusia. 

De  Soto,  as  the  prefix  to  the  name  indicates,  was  a  de- 
scendant of  a  noble  family,  which  had  become  impoverished 
during  the  Moorish  wars;  and  he  was  indebted  to  a  philan- 
thropic Spaniard  named  Davila  for  the  means  of  pursuing 
a  course  at  the  tlniversity,  where  he  distinguished  himself 
in  his  literary  studies  no  less  than  he  did  in  athletic  sports. 

When  De  Soto  was  about  twenty-three  years  of  age, 
Davila  was  appointed  governor  of  Darien,  and  he  invited  his 
protege  to  accompany  him  as  his  secretary.  The  offer  was 
gratefully  accepted;  and  thus  the  future  explorer  of  the 
Mississippi  Valley  made  his  first  voyage  to  America. 

After  remaining  in  the  service  of  his  patron  for  a  con- 
siderable time,  he  withdrew  and  engaged  in  an  independent 
exploration  of  Yucatan  and  Guatemala,  in  a  fruitless  effort 
to  find  a  supposed  strait  connecting  the  two  oceans.  This 
enterprise,  though  it  proved  unsuccessful  in  its  main  purpose, 

88 


DE  SOTO'S  EXPEDITION  INTO  FLORIDA 

demonstrated  the  spirit  of  the  young  man,  and  pointed  the 
way  to  greater  achievements.  Accordingly,  at  a  later  date, 
he  joined  Pizarro  in  his  expedition  to  Peru,  under  a  promise 
that  he  should  be  second  in  command ;  but  the  Spaniards  of 
that  period  were  as  faithless  in  their  promises  to  one  another 
as  they  were  to  the  unfortunate  savages ;  and  while  De  Soto 
was  advanced  to  influential  positions,  and  entrusted  with 
several  important  enterprises,  he  never  quite  reached  the 
goal  of  his  ambitions. 

In  1532  he  was  sent  with  fifty  horsemen  and  a  few  target- 
eers  to  explore  the  highlands  of  Peru,  and  while  engaged 
in  this  service  he  penetrated  through  the  mountains  and 
discovered  the  great  national  road  that  led  to  the  Peruvian 
capital.  This  opened  the  way  for  the  conquest  of  the  place, 
and  laid  at  the  feet  of  the  Spaniards  riches  so  vast  that  even 
to  the  present  day  the  bare  mention  of  them  dazzles  the 
imagination. 

The  young  cavalier  was  now  appointed  by  Pizarro  his 
first  ambassador  to  the  Emperor  Atahualpa,  in  which  office 
his  chivalrous  disposition  and  genial  accomplishments  made 
him  a  universal  favorite.  He  won  the  friendship  and  con- 
fidence of  the  Peruvian  monarch  and  his  people,  and  estab- 
lished a  reputation  for  the  Spanish  adventurers  far  above 
their  merits.  It  was  his  influence,  in  fact,  that  secured  the  in- 
vitation for  Pizarro  and  his  followers  to  enter  the  capital,  an 
incident  that  paved  the  way  for  the  downfall  of  the  empire. 

At  this  period  of  his  career,  De  Soto  seems  to  have  pos- 

89 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

sessed  a  just  and  generous  disposition;  for  after  the  im- 
prisonment of  the  Inca,  and  subsequent  to  the  payment  by 
his  faithful  subjects  of  a  ransom  amounting  to  about  seven- 
teen and  a  half  millions  of  dollars,  he  remonstrated  vigor- 
ously with  his  commander  against  the  treachery  displayed 
throughout  that  series  of  disgraceful  transactions.  But  he 
accomplished  nothing;  and  apparently  taking  lessons  from 
his  experience  and  surroundings,  he  subsequently  became  as 
cruel  and  avaricious  as  any  of  the  other  Spanish  leaders. 
He  was  prominent  in  all  the  ensuing  engagements  that  com- 
pleted the  conquest  of  Peru,  and  was  the  distinctive  hero 
of  the  battle  that  resulted  in  the  capture  of  Cuzco. 

Following  the  downfall  of  the  Peruvian  empire,  De  Soto's 
share  of  the  spoils  having  enriched  him  to  the  extent  of 
half  a  million  of  dollars,  he  returned  to  Spain,  where  he  was 
soon  afterward  married  to  the  daughter  of  his  old  bene- 
factor, for  whom  he  had  long  entertained  sentiments 
of  tenderness.  He  then  set  himself  up  in  "  all  the  state  that 
the  house  of  a  nobleman  requireth,"  and  began  a  course 
of  life  that  kept  him  prominently  in  the  public  eye.  His 
great  wealth,  and  the  reputation  he  had  gained  as  a  soldier, 
together  with  the  beauty  and  accomplishments  of  his  young 
wife,  brought  the  most  distinguished  men  of  Spain  to  his 
door  seeking  favors  at  his  hands;  so  that  when  it  was  an- 
nounced that  he  contemplated  leading  an  expedition  into 
the  Floridas  he  was  overwhelmed  with  applications  from  the 

chivalry  of  his  own  country,  as  well  as  from  Portugal.     It 

90 


DE  SOTO'S  EXPEDITION  INTO  FLORIDA 

was  De  Soto's  ambition  to  surpass  all  the  other  Spanish 
explorers  and  conquerors  in  wealth  and  renown ;  and  that  en- 
ticing region  bordering  on  the  southern  gulf  seemed  to  offer 
a  better  field  than  any  other  for  the  display  of  his  capabili- 
ties. In  spite  of  the  disastrous  failure  of  every  expedition 
which  had  yet  penetrated  that  part  of  the  continent,  the  be- 
lief survived  that  somewhere  in  the  interior  there  were  great 
countries  and  opulent  nations,  whose  wealth  equaled  or  sur- 
passed anything  that  the  mysteries  of  the  New  World  had 
yet  revealed;  and  among  those  who  entertained  these  chi- 
merical ideas  De  Soto  was  by  no  means  the  least. 

He  accordingly  appeared  at  the  court  of  Charles  V.  with 
a  numerous  train  of  followers,  clad  in  the  gorgeous  cos- 
tumes of  that  picturesque  era ;  and  in  other  ways  made  such 
a  display  of  his  Peruvian  wealth  as  could  not  fail  to  impress 
a  monarch  whose  mind  was  already  filled  with  visions  of 
the  vastness  and  abounding  riches  of  his  empire  across  the 
seas.  Praises  of  the  new  adventurer,  the  gallant  cavalier 
who  had  risen  like  a  star  out  of  the  mysterious  and  won- 
derful West,  were  on  every  lip;  and  the  king  himself  was 
not  among  the  least  of  his  admirers. 

But  after  all,  De  Soto's  wishes  were  neither  extravagant 
nor  difficult  to  gratify.  His  request  was  scarcely  uttered 
before  it  was  granted.  The  king  felt  himself  honored  by 
the  homage  of  so  celebrated  a  courtier,  and  manifested  an 
eager  willingness  to  comply  with  his  every  wish.  "  I  de- 
sire," said  De  Soto,  "  authority  to  take  possession  of  Florida, 

91 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

with  a  commission  as  adelantado."  "  Thou  shalt  have  it," 
replied  the  king,  "  and  more  if  it  pleases  you." 

The  Emperor  conferred  upon  De  Soto  the  title  and  office 
of  Captain-General  of  Cuba  for  life,  with  the  additional 
honors  and  functions  of  adelantado  of  Florida  so  soon  as 
he  should  subject  its  territory  to  the  Spanish  crown.  The 
office  of  adelantado  was  an  important  one,  for  it  comprised 
the  whole  civil  and  military  authority  of  the  region  over 
which  it  extended;  and  in  De  Soto's  case  it  raised  him  to  a 
Marquisate,  with  a  landed  estate  in  Florida  ninety  miles  in 
length  by  forty-five  in  width. 

This  was  an  extraordinary  honor  to  confer  upon  a  sub- 
ject; the  offices  and  their  emoluments  gave  De  Soto  a  rank 
next  to  that  of  the  dukes  of  the  empire,  and  raised  him  al- 
most to  the  foot  of  the  throne  itself.  He  was  transported 
with  enthusiasm  over  the  success  of  his  endeavor,  and  re- 
solved to  devote  his  life  and  the  whole  of  his  fortune  to  the 
establishment  of  his  empire  in  the  New  World.  He  felt 
himself  abundantly  able  to  outfit  an  expedition  at  his  own 
expense,  and  brave  enough  to  lead  it  into  and  through  all 
the  dangers  it  might  encounter.  The  king,  while  hazarding 
nothing,  would  reap  the  lion's  share  of  the  benefits  and  di- 
vide the  glory  with  De  Soto;  but  the  latter's  generous  dis- 
position would  not  allow  him  for  a  moment  to  consider 
this  selfish  phase  of  the  subject.  Yet  it  was  a  scheme  that 
promised  everything  to  the  monarch,  with  no  consideration 

to  the  subject  except  the  sanction  of  the  name  and  authority 

92 


DE  SOWS  EXPEDITION  INTO  FLORIDA 

of  royalty.  Whatever  De  Soto  might  gain  in  honors, 
wealth,  or  territory,  would  be  but  a  reflection  of  the  primary 
greatness  of  the  Emperor.  The  hero  of  Cuzco  was  glad  of 
the  opportunity  to  serve  so  great  a  ruler  at  his  own  cost,  if 
he  could  thereby  enhance  the  luster  of  his  country's  fame. 

The  announcement  of  De  Soto's  intended  expedition 
soon  spread  into  the  remotest  corners  of  the  kingdom,  arous- 
ing a  spirit  of  enthusiasm  that  past  failures  could  not 
dampen.  Gentlemen  of  birth  and  position  flocked  to  the 
capital  from  every  quarter  of  the  peninsula,  eager  to  become 
sharers  in  the  renown  as  well  as  the  substantial  benefits 
which  were  expected  to  accrue  from  this  new  and  promising 
venture.  The  wonderful  story  of  Cabeza  de  Vaca,  who  had 
but  recently  returned,  was  being  read  by  the  Spanish  people 
with  all  the  eagerness  that  might  have  attached  to  a  new 
"  Arabian  Nights,"  a  fact  which  vastly  stimulated  enthu- 
siasm in  the  project  of  De  Soto.  De  Vaca  himself  had 
asked  to  be  made  adelantado  of  Florida,  but  the  plea  of  a 
naked  and  unsuccessful  adventurer  had  no  weight  in  com- 
parison with  the  munificent  offers  of  an  opulent  hero  like 
De  Soto.  Yet  it  was  inferred  that  if  De  Vaca  would  but 
open  his  mouth  and  tell  all  he  knew,  there  would  be  a 
revelation  of  wonderful  things — of  countries  abounding  in 
gold  and  silver  and  precious  stones.  The  things  which 
he  did  not  and  could  not  tell  made  a  deeper  impression  on 
the  Spanish  mind  than  those  which  he  actually  related  in 
his  marvelous  chronicles.  For,  since  the  world  began,  mys- 

93 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

tery  and  the  unknowable  have  possessed  a  fascination  for 
the  human  mind  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  solid  facts 
of  truth. 

So  great  was  the  enthusiasm  to  accompany  De  Soto,  that 
men  sold  their  estates  and  converted  all  their  possessions 
into  cash  for  the  means  wherewith  to  outfit  themselves 
for  the  undertaking.  The  same  desperate  and  unreasoning 
methods  that  prevail  in  gambling  schemes  characterized 
this  extraordinary  movement.  Men  staked  everything  on 
the  chance  of  a  single  throw,  and  set  out  on  what  proved  to 
be  a  funeral  march  for  more  than  half  of  them,  with  the 
same  spirit  of  debonair  that  would  have  marked  their  ap- 
pearance at  a  feast  or  a  frolic.  Soldiers  of  fortune  who 
had  won  their  spurs  in  the  wars  with  the  Moors,  not  alone 
in  their  own  country,  but  on  the  distant  plains  of  Africa 
and  under  the  banner  of  the  cross  in  the  Holy  Land,  brought 
their  swords  and  laid  them  at  the  feet  of  the  latest  hero  of 
Spanish  fancy,  and  begged  him  to  accept  their  homage  and 
their  services.  Young  nobles,  men  of  fortune,  bronzed  and 
scarred  cavaliers,  ambitious  of  winning  new  laurels  and 
greater  renown  hurried  to  the  rendezvous  to  take  part  in 
the  new  conquest.  A  number  of  young  men  of  distinction 
came  also  from  the  neighboring  kingdom  of  Portugal,  fully 
armed  and  equipped,  and  as  eager  as  their  Castilian  cousins 
to  risk  life  and  fortune  in  a  scheme  whih  was  nothing 
more  than  a  vision  of  splendors  which  existed  only  in  the 
mind. 

94 


DE  SOTO'S  EXPEDITION  INTO  FLORIDA 

When  the  little  army  was  assembled  for  its  final  muster, 
at  San  Lucar,  whence  the  expedition  was  to  sail,  the  Span- 
iards appeared  "  in  doubtlets  and  cossacks  of  silk,  pinkt  and 
embroidered,"  as  gaily  as  if  they  were  starting  on  a  holiday 
excursion;  but  the  Portuguese,  with  a  better  appreciation 
of  what  lay  before  them,  "  were  in  the  equipment  of  soldiers 
in  neat  armor."  So  many  came,  both  from  Spain  and 
Portugal,  that  the  half  could  not  be  accepted;  and  De  Soto 
chose  for  his  forces  only  the  "  flower  of  the  peninsula," 
those  who  were  "  in  the  bloom  of  life,"  capable  of  enduring 
the  hardships  to  which  he  knew  they  were  destined.  When 
the  whole  body  had  been  selected  and  formed  into  companies 
and  battalions,  it  numbered  a  little  over  six  hundred  men, 
with  twenty  officers  and  the  same  number  of  ecclesiastics — 
for  the  souls  of  the  heathen  whom  they  expected  to  en- 
counter were  not  to  be  neglected.  A  number  of  women 
also  graced  the  expedition  with  their  presence,  among  them 
being  the  lovely  and  accomplished  bride  of  the  leader. 

A  more  gallant  band  never  went  forth  to  conquer  new 
lands.  All  were  young  and  in  the  full  vigor  and  spirit  of 
ambitious  manhood.  There  was  scarcely  a  gray  head  in 
the  entire  company;  youthful  eyes  flashed  beneath  steel 
cuirasses,  and  well-rounded  limbs  bore  polished  armor  that 
glittered  in  the  sunlight.  As  the  younger  Irving  observes, 
"  it  was  poetry  put  into  action ;  it  was  the  knight-errantry 
of  the  Old  World  carried  into  the  depths  of  the  American 
wilderness.  The  personal  adventures,  the  feats  of  individual 

95 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

prowess,  the  picturesque  descriptions  of  steel-clad  cavaliers 
with  lance  and  helm,  and  prancing  steed,  glittering  through 
the  wildernesses  of  Florida,  Georgia,  Alabama,  and  the 
prairies  of  the  Far  West,  would  seem  to  us  mere  fictions  of 
romance,  did  they  not  come  to  us  in  the  matter-of-fact 
narratives  of  those  who  were  eye-witnesses,  and  who  re- 
corded minute  memoranda  of  every  day's  incidents." 

The  expedition  sailed  on  the  6th  day  of  April,  1538,  in 
a  squadron  of  nine  vessels,  accompanied  by  a  fleet  of  twenty- 
six  ships  bound  for  Mexico.  The  harbor  and  town  of  San 
Lucar  were  gay  with  bunting  and  the  combined  colors  of 
Spain  and  Portugal  in  honor  of  the  great  event,  while  the 
ships,  as  they  swung  into  line  and  glided  slowly  down  the 
bay,  were  speeded  on  their  course  with  blast  of  trumpet  and 
roar  of  artillery. 

Besides  the  huhian  freight  borne  by  the  vessels,  there 
were  more  than  two  hundred  horses,  a  large  herd  of  swine, 
and  a  pack  of  bloodhounds — a  precious  cargo  for  an  ex- 
ploration! One  of  the  historians  of  the  times  quaintly 
observes  that  there  were  "  nine  hundred  men  besides  the 
sailors,  three  hundred  and  thirty  horses,  and  three  hundred 
hogs ! "  Forges,  with  chains  and  manacles,  constituted  a 
prominent  feature  of  the  equipments. 

The  sea  and  the  sun  smiled  benignantly  on  the  adven- 
turers; soft  breezes  filled  the  sails  of  the  ships  and  wafted 
them  across  the  water  to  the  sound  of  music  and  dancing. 
The  voyage  was  one  of  the  shortest  and  most  propitious  of 

96 


VESOTO'S  EXPEDITION  EMBARKING  FOR  AMERICA. 

E  Expedition  organized  by  DeSoto  to  explore  America  sailed  from  the  city 
of  San  Lucar,  Spain,  1538.  The  city  is  now  called  San  Lucar  de  Barra- 
rneda,  a  seaport  of  Andalusia,  on  the  Guadalquivir  River,  with  a  population  of 
16,000.  The  town  is  a  very  old  one,  and  in  DeSoto's  time  enjoyed  a  large  trade, 
which  has  since  been  diverted  to  Cadiz.  The  prime,  perhaps  the  sole  purpose  of 
DeSoto  was  to  seek  for  gold  in  the  new  world,  and  his  success  with  Pizarro  in 
Peru  led  to  a  general  belief  that  his  quest  in  Florida  would  be  no  less  great.  This 
sanguine  expectation  prompted  a  large  number  of  the  nobility  of  Spain  to  join  the 
expedition  so  that  its  departure  constituted  a  social  as  well  as  a  commercial  event 
of  great  importance  to  the  nation,  and  its  failure  in  the  end  was  a  corresponding 
calamity. 


wow 

werf 
.e  mem 

T)W\~A' 

•fib  ;. 


• 

Ing  thr< 
Alabama,  and  the 

mere  fictiot 
•  the  matter-of 


rc- 


f>inT     .IE 


d  bfuow  sbi'ioi^F  niieaup  eid  Jsrit  Jailed  IBM: 
srft  lo  isrlrmjfl  331*!  '» 


TIM  Hio[  i>;  iicvijc  in  VTIIKIUII  aiii  iu  i7csiiiuii  t^~im  to  •/•»-f(i:io;(j  nuijj.i _o<jXO   >r 

.  - 


gnibnoqesnoo  c  eisw  bns  srij  ni  aiuiici  » 

>re  thai 

of  bloodh 
One  of  the  1< 

i 


the 


ti*j. 


e 

id  dant 


DE  SOTO'S  EXPEDITION  INTO  FLORIDA 

that  era.  There  were  neither  clouds  nor  angry  winds  to 
cast  gloom  over  the  sea  or  hinder  the  progress  of  the  vessels. 
Near  the  last  of  May,  or  about  seven  weeks  from  the  time 
of  sailing,  the  fleet  anchored  in  the  bay  of  Santiago  de  Cuba, 
and  was  welcomed  with  the  shouts  of  the  populace  and  the 
roar  of  cannon.  News  of  the  coming  of  the  expedition, 
and  its  purpose,  spread  a  feeling  of  joy  throughout  the  is- 
land, and  for  some  days  all  the  inhabitants  gave  themselves 
up  to  the  most  lively  manifestations  of  happiness.  The 
same  enthusiasm  which  had  been  manifested  by  the  people 
of  Spain  was  now  repeated  in  Cuba.  The  ships'  com- 
panies were  entertained  with  all  the  amusements  peculiar 
to  the  age.  Balls,  masquerades,  bull-fights,  tilting-tourna- 
ments,  feats  in  athletics,  and  other  chivalrous  games  followed 
each  other  in  rapid  succession. 

At  the  conclusion  of  this  round  of  pleasures,  De  Soto  set 
out  on  a  grand  tour  of  the  island,  accompanied  by  his  princi- 
pal officers ;  while  the  other  members  of  the  expedition  pro- 
ceeded by  water  to  Havana.  His  object  in  making  the  tour 
was  to  inspect  the  public  offices  and  provide  for  the  govern- 
ment of  Cuba  and  its  dependencies  during  his  absence  in 
Florida.  The  trip  occupied  nearly  three  months,  so  that  he 
did  not  reach  Havana  until  late  in  August.  There  he  met 
his  wife  and  the  rest  of  his  companions,  and  instituted  a 
court,  whose  ceremonies  were  in  keeping  with  his  dignity  as 
the  personal  representative  of  the  Emperor.  He  also  de- 
spatched a  brigantine  to  the  Florida  coast  in  search  of  a  safe 

99 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

and  commodious  harbor,  to  which  the  expedition  might  sail 
direct  on  its  departure  from  Cuba. 

These  arrangements  having  been  completed,  De  Soto  de- 
voted himself  to  the  establishment  of  his  authority  on  the 
island;  and  in  order  that  he  might  retain  control  of  the 
general  policy  of  the  government  while  absent,  he  appointed 
his  wife  as  his  personal  representative  or  regent.  Mean- 
while, the  inhabitants  of  Havana  seem  to  have  resolved  them- 
selves into  an  association  for  the  entertainment  of  the  gov- 
ernor and  his  people.  There  was  a  continuous  round  of 
festivals  and  rejoicings.  The  choicest  viands  and  products 
of  Spain  and  the  tropics  were  displayed  on  numerous  ban- 
queting tables,  decorated  with  flowers  of  brilliant  colors, 
whose  soft  perfume  filled  the  air  and  intoxicated  the  senses. 
The  sound  of  castanet  and  the  guitar  blended  with  the 
rhythmic  tread  of  (lancers  as  they  kept  time  to  the  cadences 
of  the  music  throughout  the  long  hours  of  the  dreamy  tropi- 
cal nights.  It  was  a  period  of  universal  joy;  no  one 
thought  of  the  morrow  or  cared  to  lift  the  curtain  that  might 
have  disclosed  a  dismal  and  gruesome  future. 

Thus  week  glided  into  week  and  month  into  month,  until 
the  winter  season  was  past,  and  the  spring  of  1539  was  at 
hand.  The  brigantine  had  returned  from  Florida  with  a 
satisfactory  report  of  the  location  of  a  spacious  harbor  on 
the  western  coast,  and  bearing  four  dejected  natives  in 
chains,  who  had  been  secured  to  serve  as  guides.  At  first 
the  Indians  refused  to  talk  or  to  give  any  information  re- 

100 


DE  SOTO'S  EXPEDITION  INTO  FLORIDA 

garding  their  country ;  but  their  chains  having  been  stricken 
off,  they  became  more  cheerful  and  entered  reluctantly  into 
the  spirit  of  the  occasion.  They  weKfe  itaught  the  rudiments 
of  the  Spanish  language  and  trained  in  the- duties  u'bicb  they 
were  expected  to  perform;  but 'the 'sequel  showed"  that  the 
love  of  liberty  and  the  fires  of  patriotism  could  not  be  so 
readily  extinguished  in  their  breasts. 

Perceiving  that  the  Spaniards  could  not  be  turned  aside 
from  their  purpose  of  invasion  and  conquest,  the  natives 
changed  their  policy,  and  apparently  resolved  to  lead  their 
enemies  to  destruction  by  painting  pictures  of  natural  wealth 
and  beauty  of  scenery  which  they  knew  did  not  exist.  They 
now  represented  their  country  as  a  new  land  of  promise, 
abounding  in  gold  and  silver ;  the  streams  rippled  over  beds 
of  pearls,  and  the  forests  were  laden  with  fruits  sweeter  than 
honey,  and  so  luscious  that  they  melted  in  the  mouth.  Flow- 
ers bloomed  on  every  hand,  charming  the  eye  with  their 
beauty  and  enchanting  the  senses  with  the  sweet  odors  which 
they  exhaled.  As  the  captives  related  these  brilliant  con- 
ceptions in  broken  words  and  by  signs,  the  Spaniards  be- 
came more  enthusiastic  than  ever  in  their  purpose,  and 
were  ready  to  follow  blindly  wherever  the  wily  savages 
might  lead  them. 

So  flattering  were  the  reports  of  the  Indians  that  a  num- 
ber of  new  volunteers  joined  the  ranks  of  the  explorers, 
increasing  the  force  to  about  a  thousand  men,  including 
three  hundred  and  fifty  horsemen,  besides  the  crews  of  the 

101 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

ships.  Among  other  prominent  men  who  allied  themselves 
with  the  expedition  in  Cuba  was  a  soldier  of  fortune  named 
Vasco  de  Figueroa.-  Porcallo,  who  had  made  a  fortune  by 
establishing  plantations  and  building  towns  in  the  island. 
He  brought  with  him  a  considerable  auxiliary  force,  and 
added  a  brigantine  to  the  fleet.  His  main  object  was  the 
procuring  of  slaves  to  work  his  mines  and  estates;  but  on 
reaching  Florida  and  perceiving  the  unreliability  of  the 
fancy  stories  told  by  the  native  guides,  he  abandoned  the 
enterprise,  recrossed  the  gulf,  and  returned  to  Cuba,  much 
to  the  disgust  of  the  governor. 

During  the  long  stay  at  Havana,  De  Soto  had  strengthened 
his  forces  not  only  in  numbers,  but  in  equipment  and  sup- 
plies as  well.  Every  possible  thing  was  done  to  insure  the 
success  of  the  expedition  and  to  prepare  for  the  permanent 
settlement  of  the  country.  Among  other  things  that  were 
provided  was  a  superior  iron-worker's  forge,  with  an  abun- 
dance of  iron  and  steel ;  a  whip-saw  and  several  sets  of  wood- 
workers' tools;  more  chains  and  fetters  for  captives;  live 
stock  of  several  kinds,  besides  the  swine  which  they  had 
brought  from  Spain;  apparatus  for  smelting  and  assaying 
gold  and  silver,  with  chemists  and  miners  experienced  in 
the  working  of  the  precious  metals.  In  the  matter  of  arms 
and  accoutrements  the  force  was  as  well  equipped  as  the  best 
appointed  armies  of  that  period.  There  were  eighteen  har- 
quebuses and  one  piece  of  field  artillery,  besides  numerous 
crossbows,  which  were  as  effective  as  the  firearms  of  that 

1 02 


DE  SOTO'S  EXPEDITION  INTO  FLORIDA 

date.  The  latter  were  just  coming  into  general  use,  and  in 
a  campaign  against  savages  they  were  valued  chiefly  on 
account  of  their  thundering  noise.  The  righting  men  were 
clad  in  coats  of  mail,  with  helmets,  breastplates  and  shields 
of  glittering  steel  inlaid  with  gold;  while  for  offensive 
weapons  they  carried  lances,  cimeters  and  broadswords,  a 
single  sweep  of  the  latter  being  sufficient  to  cleave  the  body 
of  a  man  in  twain. 

Finally,  on  the  I2th  of  May,  1539,  the  guns  of  the  castle 
boomed  the  hour  of  departure,  and  the  ships  passed  out 
through  the  narrow  channel  of  the  bay  into  the  gulf.  The 
women  and  several  of  the  priests  were  left  behind,  to  grace 
the  local  court  and  assist  Dona  Isabella  in  the  government 
of  the  island.  Although  their  spirits  were  buoyed  up  with 
high  hopes  of  glory  and  renown  to  be  won,  and  an  early  re- 
union, this  proved  to  be  the  last  meeting  between  De  Soto 
and  his  wife. 

Thirteen  days  were  consumed  by  the  clumsy  vessels  in 
making  the  passage  from  Havana  to  the  west  coast  of 
Florida,  a  trip  which  is  now  accomplished  in  the  course  df 
forty-eight  hours.  As  they  drew  near  the  shore  the  Span- 
iards observed  the  twinkling  of  long  lines  of  alarm-fires, 
kindled  by  the  natives  as  a  warning  to  their  countrymen  of 
impending  danger.  But  as  the  ships  came  to  anchor  at 
the  head  of  Tampa  Bay,  the  savages  disappeared,  and  for 
several  days  not  one  of  them  was  to  be  seen.  De  Soto  being 
familiar  with  their  cunning  tactics,  accepted  this  as  an 

103 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

ominous  sign,  and  resolved  to  exercise  the  utmost  caution 
in  the  landing  of  his  troops.  Not  until  the  fourth  day  did 
he  deem  it  safe  to  allow  any  of  the  men  to  leave  the  vessels ; 
then  mooring  the  fleet  as  close  to  the  beach  as  the  depth  of 
water  would  permit,  and  bringing  all  the  guns  to  bear  on  the 
landward  side,  a  force  of  three  hundred  was  sent  ashore. 
Always  sharing  every  danger  that  he  imposed  upon  his  men, 
De  Soto  accompanied  this  detachment  in  person,  and  with 
great  pomp  and  ceremony  took  possession  of  the  country  in 
the  name  of  the  Spanish  monarch.  The  men  were  then 
suffered  to  range  at  will  over  the  sands  and  into  the  edge 
of  the  adjacent  forest,  and  at  night  they  encamped  in  fancied 
security  without  pickets  or  other  precautions  for  safety. 
The  governor's  wise  discretion  seems  to  have  deserted  him 
at  the  critical  moment.  Every  movement  had  been  observed 
by  the  watchful  savages ;  who  at  break  of  day,  according  to 
the  custom  of  their  people,  burst  upon  the  unsuspecting  camp 
in  vast  numbers  and  with  terrific  yells.  The  unarmed  and 
half-dressed  men,  horrified  by  the  barbarous  din,  flew  panic- 
stricken  toward  the  ships,  and  would  have  fallen  easy  victims 
to  the  fury  of  their  enemies  had  not  the  guns  of  the  fleet 
opened  on  the  horde  of  pursuing  savages  and  driven  them 
back.  At  the  first  crash  of  artillery  the  Indians  fled  to  the 
woods,  and  were  seen  no  more ;  but  meanwhile,  several  Span- 
iards had  been  killed  and  a  number  of  others  wounded  more 
or  less  severely  with  arrows  or  blows  from  stone  hatchets. 

The  natives  having  been  dispersed,  De  Soto,  with  great 

104 


DE  SOTO'S  EXPEDITION  INTO  FLORIDA 

caution,  landed  his  entire  force,  including  the  horses,  the 
swine,  and  the  bloodhounds,  and  began  his  preparations  for 
an  advance  into  the  interior.  Desiring  to  remove  all  hope 
of  retreat  from  the  minds  of  his  followers,  he  ordered  the 
fleet,  with  the  single  exception  of  the  vessel  commanded  by 
Porcallo — over  which  he  did  not  exercise  full  control — to 
return  to  Cuba  and  there  receive  further  instructions  from 
Dona  Isabella.  But  so  eager  were  the  sailors  to  revisit  their 
homes  that  most  of  the  ships  never  cast  anchor  until  they 
arrived  in  Spain. 

Everything  being  now  prepared,  De  Soto  began  his  first 
advance  into  the  gloomy  forest,  which  reached  down  nearly 
to  the  water's  edge.  The  greatest  caution  was  observed, 
for  ambuscades  and  stratagems  were  expected.  Several  days 
were  occupied  in  marching  a  distance  of  only  six  miles, 
when  they  came  to  a  village  governed  by  a  chief  named 
Hirihigua.  The  Indians  fled  on  the  approach  of  the  invad- 
ers, whereupon  the  Spaniards  possessed  themselves  of  the 
town  and  plundered  it  of  everything  that  was  valuable. 
They  showed  no  respect  for  the  rights  or  sentiments  of  the 
inhabitants.  This  was  the  same  place  where  the  dead  had 
been  burned  by  the  men  under  Narvaez,  and  the  savages  had 
not  forgotten  the  indignity.  Hirihigua  himself  had  been  a 
sufferer  at  the  hands  of  De  Soto's  predecessor;  for  after 
extending  to  the  Europeans  the  greatest  kindness  and  hos- 
pitality, the  chief's  aged  mother  was  thrown  to  the  blood- 
hounds by  order  of  Narvaez,  and  torn  to  pieces  without 

105 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

the  least  provocation.  When  Hirihigua  protested  against 
the  brutal  act,  the  Spanish  commander  ordered  his  nose  to 
be  cut  off,  and  his  body  otherwise  shamefully  mutilated. 
The  chief  therefore  harbored  a  bitter  hatred  for  the  white 
men,  and  when  De  Soto  endeavored  to  appease  his  wrath 
by  sending  him  rich  presents,  he  spurned  them  with  indig- 
nation. On  being  remonstrated  with  by  his  own  people, 
who  advised  him  to  court  the  favor  of  the  invaders,  since  he 
had  not  the  power  to  resist  them,  he  replied  scornfully, 
"  I  want  none  of  their  speeches  and  promises ;  bring  me  their 
heads,  and  I  will  receive  them  joyfully." 

Hirihigua  inspired  the  breasts  of  his  followers  with  his 
own  spirit  of  resentment;  but  while  they  burned  to  avenge 
the  insults  and  outrages  which  had  been  heaped  upon  them- 
selves and  their  nation,  they  shrank  from  encountering  the 
fear-inspiring  horses  and  keen-edged  weapons  of  their  ene- 
mies. Nothing  could  induce  them  to  meet  the  Europeans  in 
open  battle,  but  they  waylaid  them  at  every  opportunity  and 
picked  them  off  with  arrows  and  darts. 

De  Soto  remained  in  camp  at  the  village  of  Hirihigua  for 
several  days,  exploring  the  vicinity  and  repeating  his  ineffec- 
tual efforts  to  placate  the  chief.  During  this  time  his  men 
captured  a  number  of  the  natives,  who,  chained  in  gangs  and 
couples,  were  taught  to  serve  as  porters  and  guides  for  the 
army. 

One  day  as  a  horseman  charged  with  couched  lance  upon 
a  supposed  savage  whom  he  found  lurking  in  the  woods,  he 

1 06 


DE  SOTO'S  EXPEDITION  INTO  FLORIDA 

was  astonished  to  hear  the  man  cry  out  in  the  Spanish 
tongue,  "  Do  not  kill  me,  cavalier;  I  am  a  Christian!  Slay 
not  these  people;  they  have  given  me  life."  Fortunately  his 
appeal  was  heard  in  time;  the  soldier  threw  the  point  of 
his  lance  upward  just  as  it  was  about  to  pierce  the  body  of 
the  stranger,  who  proved  to  be  Juan  Ortiz,  a  member  of  the 
expedition  of  Narvaez,  who  had  been  captured  by  the  Indians 
and  held  by  them  in  a  mild  sort  of  slavery.  Having  adopted 
the  language  as  well  as  the  costume  and  the  customs  of  his 
captors,  Ortiz  now  became  a  valuable  medium  of  communi- 
cation between  them  and  the  Spaniards;  but  he  was  unable 
to  satisfy  the  longing  of  his  countrymen  by  pointing  the  way 
to  gold  fields,  since  he  had  heard  of  none  during  his  long 
captivity. 

The  story  of  Juan  Ortiz  is  one  of  the  most  romantic  that 
has  come  down  to  us  from  the  period  of  Spanish  explora- 
tion; while  its  great  similarity  to  the  later  romance  of  Cap- 
tain Smith  and  Pocahontas,  in  Virginia,  gives  color  to  the 
belief  that,  in  part  at  least,  it  supplied  a  model  for  the  latter. 

It  was  the  fate  of  Ortiz,  immediately  after  his  capture,  to 
be  assigned  to  a  chief  named  Ucita,  who,  in  retaliation  for 
the  death  of  some  of  his  warriors  who  had  been  burned  at 
the  stake  by  the  Spaniards,  condemned  the  prisoner  to  a 
similar  punishment.  He  was  accordingly  bound  hand  and 
foot  and  placed  in  this  helpless  condition  on  a  wooden  scaf- 
fold elevated  a  few  feet  above  the  ground,  and  a  fire  of  sticks 
and  brush  kindled  under  him.  In  a  moment  the  smoke  and 

107 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

flames  leaped  up  and  enveloped  his  body ;  but  at  this  instant, 
before  any  serious  harm  had  come  to  him,  the  savage  cere- 
mony was  interrupted  by  the  cries  of  a  beautiful  daughter 
of  the  chief,  who,  throwing  herself  at  the  feet  of  her  father, 
implored  the  life  of  the  captive.  But  it  was  not  the  custom 
of  the  chief  to  be  diverted  from  his  purposes  by  the  senti- 
mental appeals  of  a  woman,  and  Ucita  steeled  his  heart 
against  the  importunities  of  his  child.  Seeing  that  she  could 
not  melt  him  to  compassion,  the  girl  changed  her  tactics  and 
appealed  to  her  father's  vanity.  "  How  noble  it  will  be,"  she 
cried,  "  for  my  father  to  hold  the  white  man  a  captive,  for 
in  all  the  traditions  of  our  people  such  a  thing  has  never 
happened  before.  It  will  distinguish  Ucita  above  all  the 
other  chiefs,  and  malce  him  the  greatest  that  has  ever  ruled 
over  our  nation."  At  any  rate,  she  urged,  a  single  white 
man  could  do  no  harm,  while  his  presence  among  them 
would  excite  the  wonder  and  envy  of  their  neighboring 
tribes.  This  cunning  argument  had  the  desired  effect. 
Ucita  felt  no  compassion  for  his  white  prisoner,  but  it  would 
indeed  be  a  great  distinction  to  retain  him  as  a  slave.  Ortiz 
was  thereupon  unbound,  and  being  lifted  from  his  perilous 
position,  was  assigned  to  the  daughter  of  the  chieftain. 

We  are  not  informed  as  to  the  subsequent  relations 
between  the  two,  but  it  may  be  inferred  from  certain  in- 
cidents that  they  were  of  a  romantic  and  tender  character. 
About  three  years  after  the  freeing  of  the  captive,  Ucita  en- 
gaged in  war  with  another  chief  whose  territory  bordered 

108 


DE  SOTO'S  EXPEDITION  INTO  FLORIDA 

on  his  dominions,  and  met  with  sore  defeat.  A  number  of 
his  warriors  were  slain  and  he  and  his  people  were  driven 
from  their  homes.  Attributing  the  disaster  to  the  malevo- 
lence of  an  evil  spirit,  the  chief  resolved  to  propitiate  his 
anger  by  sacrificing  the  white  man ;  but  in  the  darkness  of  the 
night  the  princess  took  him  by  the  hand  and  led  him  along 
secret  paths  through  the  forest  to  the  camp  of  her  father's  en- 
emy, where  she  knew  he  would  receive  protection.  Thus  for 
the  second  time  her  devotion  saved  the  life  of  the  prisoner, 
probably  at  the  cost  of  her  own;  for  the  silence  regarding 
her  fate  points  unmistakably  to  the  supposition  that  she  suf- 
fered in  the  stead  of  the  man  she  loved. 

There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  the  truth  of  this  story,  and  it 
is  much  to  be  regretted  that  the  name  of  the  daughter  of 
Ucita  has  not  come  down  to  us,  in  order  that  it  might  be 
honored  like  that  of  Pocahontas. 

Ortiz  remained  a  captive  among  his  new  associates  until 
the  coming  of  De  Soto,  when  he  was  rescued  in  the  manner 
already  related.  Having  learned  the  language  of  the  na- 
tives, and  become  familiar  in  his  wanderings  with  a  large 
scope  of  country,  he  now  became  one  of  the  most  useful 
members  of  the  expedition,  as  guide  and  interpreter.  His 
death  occurred  a  short  time  before  that  of  the  commander, 
who  thereupon  declared  that  it  was  "  a  great  cross  to  his 
designs." 


109 


I 
DIVISION  V. 

Indian  Life,  as  De  Soto  Found  it. 


HAVING  established  a  station  at  the  village  of  Hirihigua, 
and  leaving  a  detachment  to  garrison  it,  De  Soto  at  length 
set  out  on  his  march  in  a  northeasterly  direction.  The  guides 
purposely  led  him  into  the  most  difficult  and  dangerous 
places,  into  thick  woods  rendered  almost  impassable  by  tan- 
gled vines  and  undergrowth ;  through  swamps,  marshes  and 
deep  morasses,  where  the  men  were  in  constant  danger  of 
sinking  beyond  their  depth  and  being  suffocated  in  the  black 
mud  and  ooze.  In  several  instances  the  path  opened  out 
into  spaces  that  were  clear  of  timber,  and  covered  with  an 
apparently  solid  vegetable  growth  that  seemed  to  offer  a  safe 
passage;  but  the  moment  man  or  horse  stepped  upon  it  they 
sank  into  a  deep  and  suffocating  bog.  Several  of  the  bravest 
cavaliers  were  lost  in  this  way.  The  march  was  painful  and 
beset  with  dangers  on  every  hand;  the  days  and  the  nights 
were  filled  with  suffering  and  death. 

In  the  thick  and  desperate  gloom  of  the  woods,  where 
neither  cavalry  nor  foot  could  operate  effectively,  they  were 
set  upon  by  hordes  of  concealed  savages,  who  poured  clouds 
of  arrows  and  deadly  shafts  into  their  ranks.  Realizing  that 
his  misfortunes  were  the  result  of  design  on  the  part  of  his 

no 


INDIAN  LIFE  AS  DE  SOTO  FOUND  IT 

guides,  De  Soto  turned  the  bloodhounds  loose  upon  them 
as  a  warning  against  similar  conduct  in  the  future ;  but  the 
fangs  of  the  ferocious  brutes  and  the  dread  which  they  in- 
spired could  not  quell  the  spirit  of  patriotism  that  burned 
in  the  breasts  of  these  children  of  the  forest.  The  survivors 
repeated  the  same  illusive  stories  of  distant  wealth,  and 
pointed  the  way  that  led  to  certain  destruction. 

In  vain  Ortiz  remonstrated  with  his  leader,  assuring  him 
that  during  all  the  years  of  his  captivity  he  had  neither  seen 
nor  heard  of  a  single  specimen  of  the  precious  metals  in  that 
country,  and  that  the  savages  were  merely  repeating  their 
illusive  stories  for  the  purpose  of  accomplishing  his  ruin. 
But  he  might  as  well  have  spoken  to  the  wind,  for  De  Soto 
was  no  less  infatuated  than  his  followers. 

As  an  additional  warning  to  the  guides  and  prisoners, 
they  were  chained  with  rings  about  their  necks,  and  forced 
to  bear  a  double  burden  in  the  weight  of  baggage  that  was 
laid  upon  their  backs.  If  any  remonstrated  by  word  or  look, 
they  were  scourged  with  whips,  or  murdered  with  as  little 
compunction  as  if  they  had  been  wild  beasts.  Young  girls 
were  subjected  to  the  brutal  lusts  of  their  captors,  and 
driven,  when  passion  had  been  satiated,  to  the  slavish  drudg- 
ery of  the  camp.  Shame  and  decency,  as  well  as  mercy, 
seemed  to  have  fled  from  the  hearts  of  the  Spaniards. 

Yet  in  the  midst  of  this  riot  of  murder  and  licentiousness, 
the  services  of  the  mass  were  religiously  observed.  The 
solemn  processions  of  the  church  were  instituted  and  faith- 

iii 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

fully  performed;  and  each  day  the  woods  rang  with  the 
chanting  of  the  priests,  who  so  far  as  history  informs  us 
were  as  licentious  as  their  zealous  communicants.  The  sin- 
gular spirit  by  which  these  adventurers  were  animated  may 
be  inferred  from  a  letter  written  a  few  years  later  by  a  Span- 
ish enthusiast  to  his  king,  proposing  to  establish  in  Florida 
holy  cities  under  the  names  of  Caesarea  and  Philippina. 

"  It  is  lawful  that  your  Majesty,"  wrote  this  devout 
Spaniard,  "  like  a  good  shepherd,  appointed  by  the  hand  of 
the  Eternal  Father,  should  tend  and  lead  out  your  sheep, 
since  the  Holy  Spirit  has  shown  spreading  pastures  whereon 
are  feeding  lost  sheep  which  have  been  snatched  away  by 
the  dragon,  the  Demon.  These  pastures  are  the  New  World, 
wherein  is  comprised  Florida,  now  in  the  possession  of  the 
Demon,  and  here  he  makes  himself  adored  and  revered. 
This  is  the  Land  of  Promise,  possessed  by  idolaters,  the 
Amorite,  Amalekite,  Moabite,  'Canaanite.  This  is  the  land 
promised  by  the  Eternal  Father  to  the  Faithful,  since  we 
are  commanded  by  God  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  to  take  it  from 
them,  being  idolaters,  and,  by  reason  of  their  idolatry  and 
sin,  to  put  them  all  to  the  knife,  leaving  no  living  thing  save 
maidens  and  children,  their  cities  robbed  and  sacked,  their 
walls  and  houses  leveled  to  the  earth." 

After  toiling  for  several  days  against  hardships,  that 
would  have  overcome  men  of  less  firmness  of  character,  and 
contending  with  obstacles  that  seemed  insurmountable,  the 
Spaniards  came  at  length  to  a  deep  river  that  was  out  of  its 

112 


RESCUING  ORTIZ  FROM  CAPTIVITY. 

E  Narvaez  expedition  of  1527  ended  most  disastrously,  in  the  drowning  oi 
that  explorer,  the  death  of  nearly  all  those  who  accompanied  him  and  the 
capture  and  enslavement  by  Indians  of  the  survivors.  When  DeSoto  entered 
Florida,  in  1539,  he  was  astounded  to  discover  during  a  conflict  with  Indians  a 
white  man,  who  implored  his  protection.  Triis  white  man  proved  to  be  a  Spaniard 
named  Ortiz,  a  survivor  of  the  Narvaez  expedition,  who  being  rescued  by  DeSoto 
became  his  interpreter  thereafter  and  remained  with  the  expedition  until  his  death 
uhich  occurred  nearly  two  years  later  near  the  Mississippi. 


rang  v 
r  as  history 

>  their  zealous  communicant 
•//hich  these  adventurers  were  animai 
be :  from  a  I-  later  by  ; 

ish  i.lish  in  Flo 

ho!\ 

;>   devout 

- 


«^ 

•   •   • 

.  • 

.iXUWfito'sri 

• 

1  ,:inu 

^thful,  since  we 
^om 

. 

. 
- 
led 

er,  and 
^untable. 

• 


INDIAN  LIFE  AS  DE  SOTO  FOUND  IT 

banks  from  recent  rains.  Here  it  seemed  their  course  must 
end,  for  extending  on  either  side  of  the  stream  for  a  mile 
or  more  was  a  low  swamp,  which  on  account  of  the  spongy 
nature  of  the  soil  appeared  to  be  impassable,  even  where  the 
ground  was  not  covered  with  water.  Three  days  were  spent 
in  fruitless  efforts  to  find  a  crossing-place,  during  the  whole 
of  which  time  they  were  subjected  to  incessant  attacks  by 
the  natives.  Rushing  out  of  the  coverts  of  the  woods  with 
horrible  and  vindictive  yells,  the  Indians  threw  themselves 
upon  the  Spaniards  with  the  fury  of  demons,  striking  with 
their  stone  hatchets  and  unshafting  myriads  of  flint-tipped 
arrows.  Stung  with  madness  at  what  he  regarded  as  cer- 
tain evidence  of  treachery  on  the  part  of  his  new  guides, 
De  Soto  again  ordered  the  bloodhounds  to  be  loosened ;  and 
the  helpless  men  were  subjected  to  the  same  fate  that  had 
been  inflicted  upon  their  predecessors.  But  even  in  the 
agony  and  terror  of  the  death-struggle,  they  smiled  in  tri- 
umphant consciousness  of  having  demoralized  their  enemies. 
Other  guides  were  found,  who  at  length  pointed  the  way 
to  a  place  where  the  bottom  of  the  swamp  was  firm,  though 
covered  with  water.  Again  the  Spaniards  advanced,  brav- 
ing unseen  dangers  in  pursuit  of  the  will-o'-the-wisp  by 
which  they  were  infatuated.  A  single  false  step  might  send 
them  down  to  destruction,  or  land  them  in  a  bog  whence 
there  would  be  no  escape;  but  they  neither  hesitated  nor 
held  back.  Encouraged  by  their  intrepid  leader,  who  never 
quailed  in  the  face  of  danger,  they  pushed  forward  and  suc- 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

ceeded  in  making  their  way  to  the  channel  of  the  river,  al- 
though frequently  wading  in  water  up  to  their  armpits. 

But  now  the  Spaniards  were  face  to  face  with  the  great- 
est peril  that  had  yet  beset  them.  The  surface  of  the  river 
swarmed  with  hostile  canoes,  manned  by  thousands  of  fierce 
and  threatening  savages,  while  any  attempt  to  ford  the 
stream  would  be  little  short  of  madness.  It  seemed  indeed 
that  they  had  at  last  come  to  the  end  of  their  hopes;  but 
De  Soto,  like  all  leaders  worthy  of  the  name,  proved  himself 
resourceful  in  time  of  need.  On  pressing  the  guides,  he 
learned  that  a  short  distance  above  the  spot  where  they  stood 
there  was  a  rude  Indian  bridge,  formed  by  felling  a  tree 
from  either  side  to  a  stationary  raft  in  the  middle  of  the 
stream,  which  might  afford  a  means  of  passage.  As  usual 
in  flat  and  marshy  countries,  the  banks  of  the  river  were 
higher  than  the  swamps  that  lay  further  back,  so  that  the 
men  could  move  along  the  stream  with  some  degree  of 
comfort  and  safety.  Following  their  guides,  they  soon  came 
to  the  bridge,  which  in  spite  of  its  flimsy  and  dangerous 
appearance  afforded  the  means  of  passing  the  little  army 
over  in  single  file,  the  horses  being  obliged  to  swim. 

Although  we  have  no  certain  information  on  the  subject, 
circumstances  apparently  confirm  the  belief  that  this  stream 
which  gave  the  Spaniards  so  much  trouble  was  the  With- 
lacoochee  river,  and  we  are  therefore  enabled  to  follow  their 
course  with  a  considerable  degree  of  accuracy. 

The  Indians  were  so  impressed  by  the  inflexible  determi- 

116 


INDIAN  LIFE  AS  DE  SOTO  FOUND  IT 

nation  of  the  white  men,  and  their  success  in  passing  a 
river  which  they  had  with  good  reason  regarded  as  an  in- 
surmountable obstacle,  that  they  fell  back  in  despair  and 
made  but  little  further  effort  to  hinder  their  progress.  The 
Spaniards  now  proceeded  on  their  course  more  rapidly,  but 
still  with  the  greatest  caution,  for  De  Soto  thoroughly  under- 
stood the  wily  character  of  the  people  whom  the  cruelty 
of  his  countrymen  had  transformed  into  the  bitterest  of 
enemies.  Every  precaution  was  taken  to  prevent  sur- 
prise; at  the  same  time  friendly  overtures  were  made  to  all 
the  natives  who  came  within  their  reach.  But  they  had 
already  established  their  character  in  the  minds  of  the  sav- 
ages by  the  cruelties  which  they  had  inflicted  on  their  guides 
and  prisoners,  and  their  efforts  at  reconciliation  met  with 
no  encouragement.  The  Indians  were  sullen  and  suspi- 
cious, manifesting  a  hostility  and  hatred  that,  under  the 
circumstances,  were  no  less  remarkable  than  just. 

After  some  days  of  travel  and  hardship,  in  which  several 
of  the  adventurers  lost  their  lives,  they  came  to  a  town 
about  thirty  miles  north  of  the  Withlacoochee  river,  and 
probably  on  or  near  the  borders  of  Orange  lake.  It  was 
ruled  over  by  a  cacique  named  Acuera,  who  proved  to  be 
one  of  the  bravest  and  most  implacable  of  all  the  chiefs 
of  the  peninsula.  When  invited  by  De  Soto  to  a  friendly 
conference,  he  responded  with  reproaches  and  words  of 
defiance.  He  reminded  the  Spanish  leader  of  the  cruelty 
and  treachery  of  his  predecessors,  whose  evil  fame  had  spread 

117 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

far  and  wide  among  the  nations  of  the  red  people;  and  he 
gave  him  fair  warning  that  he  need  not  expect  anything  from 
him  but  the  bitterest  and  most  unrelenting  hostility. 

The  Indians  having  fled  to  the  woods  on  the  approach  of 
the  invaders,  the  latter  occupied  their  houses  and  rested  after 
their  perilous  marches.  For  twenty-two  days  they  continued 
in  this  place.  The  village  lay  in  the  midst  of  a  level  and  very 
fertile  bottom,  where  there  were  numerous  fields  of  corn  and 
gardens  containing  pumpkins,  squashes,  melons,  and  several 
varieties  of  vegetables,  most  of  which  were  unfamiliar  to 
the  Europeans.  Interspersed  among  the  fields  and  gardens 
were  a  number  of  orchards  and  fruit-trees,  bending  under 
the  weight  of  their  growing  crops;  while  running  tamely 
about  the  houses  and  in  the  streets  were  many  domes- 
ticated fowls.  These  evidences  of  civilization  and  comfort 
excited  the  wonder  of  the  Spaniards,  and  confirmed  their 
belief  that  they  were  not  far  distant  from  the  gold-bearing 
regions  which  they  were  so  eagerly  seeking.  They  could 
not  conceive  how  a  people  might  be  rich  and  happy,  and  en- 
joy all  the  necessary  comforts  of  life,  without  having  mines 
of  the  precious  metals  to  draw  upon. 

The  villages  and  houses  of  the  Indians  of  that  date  pre- 
sented many  interesting  features;  and  as  they  represent  an 
era  which  has  passed  into  the  classical  period  of  our  coun- 
try's history,  it  may  be  advisable  to  consider  them  with  some 
degree  of  care. 

In  the  South,  as  well  as  in  the  North,  there  were  several 

118 


INDIAN  LIFE  AS  DE  SOTO  FOUND  IT 

large  confederations  of  tribes  or  nations,  like  the  Hurons 
of  Canada  and  the  well-known  Iroquois  of  western  New 
York;  and  in  those  sections  where  the  people  were  most 
numerous  there  were  a  number  of  large  towns,  having  popu- 
lations that  ran  up  into  the  thousands.  These  principal 
towns  were  palisaded  and  protected  by  forts  and  citadels 
that  displayed  a  good  deal  of  ingenuity  and  no  little  con- 
ception of  the  requirements  of  military  engineering;  but  the 
villages  were  generally  a  mere  collection  of  huts,  without 
order  or  regularity,  without  streets  or  squares,  and  wholly 
devoid  of  the  means  of  defense.  They  were  built,  of  course, 
in  regions  that  were  not  exposed  to  attack,  and  generally 
on  watercourses  for  the  convenience  of  the  inhabitants, 
who  were  great  fishers.  Villages  of  the  same  tribes  or  con- 
federation were  connected  by  paths  leading  in  various  direc- 
tions through  the  woods,  with  about  as  much  order  and 
regularity  as  our  modern  public  roads.  The  towns  usually 
covered  spaces  of  from  one  to  five  or  ten  acres,  and  were 
very  compactly  built,  the  houses  standing  close  together,  and 
generally  a  single  house  accommodated  a  number  of  separate 
families.  The  fires  were  built  in  a  row  down  the  center  of 
the  house,  the  smoke  escaping  through  an  aperture  left  for 
that  purpose  in  the  apex  of  the  roof. 

It  was  a  village  of  the  smaller  kind  where  De  Soto  and 
his  men  were  now  resting,  and  a  description  of  it  will  serve 
for  all  of  its  class  in  the  South.  In  shape  the  houses  were 
like  an  arbor  overarching  a  garden  walk,  and  generally 

119 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

about  thirty  to  thirty-five  feet  in  length  by  one-half 
that  space  in  breadth  and  height.  But  many  were  far 
more  pretentious  in  their  dimensions.  It  was  no  unusual 
thing  to  find  houses  in  these  villages  more  than  two  hun- 
dred feet  in  length,  but  retaining  the  same  height  and  width 
as  the  smaller  ones ;  and  in  some  of  the  larger  towns  writers 
claim  to  have  measured  houses  that  were  five  hundred  and 
forty  feet  long !  These,  however,  were  merely  an  extension 
of  the  original  structures,  additions  having  been  made  at 
the  ends  from  time  to  time,  to  suit  the  wants  or  conven- 
iences of  the  occupants.  The  frames  were  made  of  saplings, 
planted  in  parallel  rows  to  form  the  sides  of  the  buildings, 
bent  at  the  top  until  they  met  in  the  middle,  where  they  were 
bound  together  with  strong  withes.  To  the  upright  pillars 
other  poles  were  lashed  transversely,  to  strengthen  the  build- 
ing and  afford  conveniences  for  the  occupants.  In  the 
South  the  walls  of  the  houses  were  composed  of  mats  of 
plaited  reeds  or  grass,  or  consecutive  overlapping  layers  of 
palm  leaves,  like  the  shingles  of  a  roof;  these  were  neces- 
sarily highly  inflammable.  In  the  North  the  bark  of  trees 
was  substituted  for  mats  and  palm  leaves.  At  the  crown  of 
the  arch,  along  the  whole  length  of  the  house,  an  opening 
a  foot  wide  was  left  for  the  escape  of  smoke  and  the  admis- 
sion of  air  and  light.  Some  of  the  houses  were  also  pro- 
vided with  small,  square  openings,  two-thirds  of  the  way  up 
the  walls,  which  served  the  purpose  of  windows.  These 
were  closed  with  shutters  at  night  and  during  rainy  or  cold 

1 20 


INDIAN  LIFE  AS  DE  SOTO  FOUND  IT 

weather.  At  each  end  were  closed  porches,  composed  of 
the  same  materials  as  the  houses,  where  casks  of  bark  were 
stowed  as  receptacles  for  dried  fish,  maize,  nuts,  and  other 
products  of  field  and  forest.  Within  were  wide  scaffolds, 
on  both  sides,  raised  about  four  feet  above  the  ground,  and 
extending  the  whole  length  of  the  room.  They  were  formed 
of  sheets  of  bark,  laid  on  a  scaffolding  of  transverse  poles, 
and  covered  with  mats  or  skins.  Here  the  inmates  slept  at 
night  or  lounged  during  the  day.  Their  fire-wood,  cooking 
utensils,  and  other  conveniences  were  piled  underneath.  In 
very  cold  weather  the  people  rolled  themselves  in  skins  and 
slept  in  a  circle  around  the  fires,  with  their  feet  close  to  the 
embers.  Dogs,  which  assumed  the  same  liberties  as  the 
children,  slept  with  the  family;  men,  women,  dogs  and 
children  lying  in  promiscuous  heaps.  Necessarily  there  was 
neither  cleanliness  nor  privacy  in  such  an  arrangement; 
fleas  and  filth  abounded.  Children  were  allowed  the  utmost 
license,  no  effort  ever  being  made  to  curb  or  correct  their 
dispositions. 

Near  the  tops  of  the  houses,  under  the  vaulted  roofs,  were 
a  number  of  poles,  like  the  perches  of  a  hen-roost,  to  which 
were  suspended  clothing,  weapons,  skins  and  ornaments; 
and  in  harvest-time  the  women  attached  long  rows  of  the 
ears  of  unshelled  corn  to  these  poles,  until  the  interior  of  the 
house,  throughout  its  entire  length,  seemed  decked  with  a 
sort  of  rude  tapestry.  But  on  other  occasions  the  walls 
were  bare  and  begrimed  with  a  thick  coating  of  soot;  for 

121 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

the  smoke,  having  neither  chimney  nor  draught,  generally 
rested  in  a  cloud  in  the  interior  of  the  apartment.  So  pun- 
gent and  penetrating  was  this  smoke-cloud,  that  it  produced 
chronic  inflammation  of  the  eyes,  and  blindness  was  no  un- 
common affliction  among  the  aged  of  both  sexes. 

Culinary  utensils  were  of  the  simplest  character,  consisting 
of  a  few  vessels  of  bark  and  rawhide,  in  which  they  boiled 
their  food.  Such  vessels  of  course  could  not  be  placed  over 
fires,  but  the  boiling  was  performed  by  dipping  heated 
rocks  into  the  liquid.  Most  of  their  cooking  was  done  by 
baking  in  earth-pits,  or  broiling  on  forked  sticks  before  the 
fires.  Potatoes,  yams,  ears  of  green  corn,  etc.,  were  roasted 
in  the  hot  ashes,  and  only  those  who  have  eaten  such  articles 
cooked  in  that  manner  can  appreciate  their  sweetness  and 
delicacy  of  flavor. 

A  winter  scene  in  an  Indian  home  presented  a  strange  and 
weird  spectacle.  The  long  vista  of  fires  stretching  down 
the  smoky  concave  lighted  up  the  bronzed  faces  of  the  groups 
collected  around  them,  cooking,  eating,  gambling,  scuffling, 
or  amusing  themselves  with  coarse  and  idle  badinage,  at 
which  no  one  thought  of  taking  offense,  however  cutting  the 
sarcasm  might  be.  Grizzly  and  scarred  old  warriors,  heroes 
of  a  hundred  battles ;  youthful  aspirants  whose  honors  were 
yet  to  be  won;  old  squaws,  shriveled,  toothless  and  hideous 
with  the  hardships  and  ravages  of  time,  venting  the  resent- 
ments of  a  life  of  ill-usage  on  all  around  them ;  young  dam- 
sels, gay  with  ochre,  red  clay  and  wampum,  the  latter  in 

122 


INDIAN  LIFE  AS  DE  SOTO  FOUND  IT 

most  cases  representing  the  value  of  their  merchantable 
virtue;  rude  and  restless  children  and  snarling  dogs,  made 
up  a  combination  that  was  never  equaled  or  surpassed  by 
any  other  nation  or  people.  Virtue,  as  it  is  understood  with 
us,  did  not  exist  among  Indian  women  until  after  marriage. 
Damsels  and  maidens  were  fancy  free,  enjoying  a  liberty 
and  license  which  constituted  the  only  untrammeled  period 
of  their  existence;  for  after  marriage  they  became  the  slaves 
and  drudges  of  their  husbands.  First  marriages  were 
rarely  permanent.  Two  young  people,  with  a  supposed 
affinity,  would  by  mutual  consent  live  together  for  a  while, 
a  day  or  a  week  according  to  their  pleasure,  merely  to  test 
their  compatibility  of  temper.  If  both  were  satisfied,  nup- 
tials of  a  permanent  character  were  entered  into;  but  if 
they  found  that  they  could  not  live  together  in  peace,  they 
wisely  agreed  to  separate  and  each  seek  another  mate.  Such 
temporary  unions  were  not  regarded  as  immoral,  or  as  de- 
tracting anything  from  the  character  or  social  standing  of 
the  young  women;  who  thereafter  continued  to  move  in  the 
same  circles  which  they  had  previously  adorned,  until  they 
found  a  companion  who  satisfied  their  requirements. 

After  permanent  marriage,  separations  and  divorcements 
were  rare;  and  polygamy  did  not  exist  except  among  the 
principal  chiefs.  Such  a  state  of  society  and  of  morals  was 
inseparable  from  the  promiscuous  manner  in  which  these 
people  lived,  entirely  without  privacy  and  almost  without 
distinction  as  to  sex  or  age. 

123 


LOUISIANA  TERRITORY 

The  fortified  towns  of  the  Southern  Indians  were  even 
more  interesting  than  the  common  villages,  for  they  were 
larger  and  possessed  special  features  which  did  not  attach 
to  the  smaller  places.  Such  towns  were  generally  the  cap- 
itals of  powerful  chiefs,  who  ruled  over  a  number  of  con- 
federated tribes ;  and  De  Soto  learned  to  his  cost  that  when 
occasion  required,  these  chiefs  could  assemble  large  forces 
of  very  determined,  though  illy-trained  and  poorly-armed 
warriors. 

In  all  cases  where  a  fortified  town  was  to  be  established, 
a  situation  was  chosen  favorable  to  defense.  This  was  gen- 
erally on  the  bank  of  a  lake,  the  crown  of  a  difficult  hill,  or 
a  high  point  of  land  between  two  confluent  streams.  The 
site  having  been  selected,  a  ditch  several  feet  deep  was  dug 
around  the  place,  the  dirt  being  thrown  up  in  the  form  of  an 
embankment  on  the  inner  side.  Heavy  palisades  of  logs, 
pointed  at  the  top,  were  then  set  close  together  around  the 
whole  length  of  the  ditch,  and  firmly  imbedded  in  the  earth. 
In  some  instances  these  palisades  took  root,  and  became 
permanent  growths  in  the  positions  to  which  they  had  been 
transplanted.  The  trees  for  the  palisades  were  cut  down  by 
alternately  burning  the  trunks  and  hacking  away  the  charred 
portions  with  stone  hatchets ;  the  palisades  themselves  being 
afterwards  cut  into  proper  lengths  and  sharpened  by  the  same 
means.  It  was  a  slow  and  laborious  process,  but  the  Indians 
had  plenty  of  time ;  besides,  most  of  this  work  was  done  by 

the  women,  while  the  men  were  engaged  in  war,  in  hunting, 

124 


INDIAN  LIFE  AS  DE  SOTO  FOUND  IT 

or  in  affairs  of  state.  The  Southern  tribes  were  never 
known  to  use  more  than  a  single  row  of  palisades,  but  the 
Iroquois,  the  Hurons,  and  others  of  the  North,  often  em- 
ployed as  many  as  three  or  four  concentric  rows,  so  inter- 
laced and  bound  together  as  to  form  a  solid  wall  of  wood 
several  feet  in  thickness.  The  whole  interior  was  lined,  to 
the  height  of  a  man,  with  cross-timbers,  or  heavy  sheets  of 
bark,  to  serve  as  a  shield  against  any  arrows  or  darts  that 
might  find  their  way  through  the  crevices ;  and  near  the  top 
was  a  platform,  or  gallery,  extending  around  the  whole 
interior  of  the  wall,  on  which  the  warriors  stood  when 
repelling  an  assault.  Magazines  of  stones  were  provided  at 
convenient  distances  along  the  galleries,  for  use  in  case  of 
attack ;  but  it  does  not  appear  that  any  of  the  North  Ameri- 
can tribes  understood  the  advantages  of  the  sling. 

Wooden  gutters  were  affixed  to  the  palisades,  through 
which  streams  of  water  might  be  poured  to  extinguish  any 
fires  kindled  by  the  enemy ;  and  boiling  water  was  sometimes 
used  in  repelling  assaults. 

Within  the  enclosure  the  houses  were  clustered,  generally 
in  a  circle  around  the  palisades,  a  large  open  space  being 
left  in  the  center,  where  the  council-fires  were  kindled  and 
the  children  romped  and  played.  Individual  ownership  of 
land  was  not  recognized  by  any  of  the  tribes,  but  each  family 
enjoyed  the  exclusive  right  to  the  cultivation  of  its  fields  and 
gardens  so  long  as  that  right  was  exercised.  The  work  of 
clearing  the  ground,  a  slow  and  laborious  task,  was  per- 

125 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

formed  in  all  cases  by  the  women,  who  first  removed  the 
underbrush  by  twisting,  hacking  and  breaking  it  with  their 
primitive  tools,  and  piling  it  in  heaps  around  the  roots  of 
the  trees.  As  soon  as  these  piles  of  brush  were  dry,  fire  was 
applied  to  them,  with  the  result  that  the  trees  were  either 
burned  down  or  "  deadened  "  by  the  heat.  The  ground  was 
then  ready  for  such  cultivation  as  the  women  were  capable  of 
bestowing  upon  it.  Laboring  painfully  with  their  hoes  of 
wood,  bone,  or  horn,  they  scratched  the  surface  of  the  earth 
among  the  charred  stumps  and  planted  their  beans,  corn, 
pumpkins,  tobacco,  hemp,  sunflowers,  etc.  The  hemp  was 
spun  into  coarse  twine  by  rolling  the  fibers  on  the  hips,  after 
which  the  threads  were  woven  by  hand  into  cloth  for  do- 
mestic purposes.  Having  no  machinery  of  any  kind,  and  no 
genius  for  invention,  all  their  work  was  done  by  hand, 
necessarily  in  a  tedious  and  imperfect  manner.  Their 
greatest  display  of  mechanical  skill  was  in  the  weaving  of 
mats,  which  they  manufactured  from  rushes  and  coarse 
grasses  with  a  good  deal  of  ingenuity  and  taste.  Sun- 
flowers seem  to  have  been  cultivated  by  nearly  all  the  tribes, 
not  to  gratify  an  esthetic  taste,  bttt  for  the  oil  of  the  seeds, 
which  they  employed  in  anointing  their  hair  and  bodies; 
the  seeds  were  likewise  pounded  into  a  sort  of  paste  and 
baked  as  bread.  Oil  was  extracted  from  fish  for  anointing 
the  person  and  for  medicinal  purposes. 

The  staple  article  of  food  with  all  the  tribes  was  maize, 
or  Indian  corn,  which  they  prepared,  without  salt,  in  a  vari- 

126 


INDIAN  LIFE  AS  DE  SOTO  FOUND  IT 

ety  of  ways,  each  less  agreeable  to  a  civilized  palate  than  the 
others.  Before  going  on  the  war-path  it  was  the  custom  of 
each  warrior  to  provide  himself  with  a  pouch  of  parched 
corn  and  a  small  piece  of  the  fat  of  venison,  which  they 
ate  by  alternate  mouthfuls  while  marching;  and  this  was 
frequently  their  only  reliance  for  food  for  weeks  at  a  time. 
As  corn  was  so  essential  to  their  existence,  it  was  grown  in 
considerable  quantities,  and  stored  in  granaries  and  caches, 
the  latter  being  deep  holes  in  the  earth,  dug  either  within  or 
without  their  houses,  and  so  arranged  that  they  could  be 
readily  concealed.  Although  deer  were  plentiful,  venison, 
especially  among  the  Southern  Indians,  was  regarded  as  a 
luxury,  to  be  enjoyed  only  at  a  feast;  a  fact  that  was  proba- 
bly due  to  the  difficulty  which  they  experienced  in  killing 
the  animals  with  their  imperfect  weapons.  Dog's-flesh 
ranked  higher  than  any  other  kind  of  meat,  and  for  that 
reason  it  was  reserved  mainly  for  their  religious  festivals. 
Young  bears  were  caught  and  fattened  for  the  same  purpose ; 
though  bear's-meat  was  not  esteemed  so  highly  as  either 
venison  or  dog's-flesh.  Indians  were  expert  hominy  makers, 
which  they  prepared  by  pounding  the  corn  in  wooden  hop- 
pers, scooped  out  of  the  top  of  a  stump,  or  the  end  of  a  log, 
by  alternate  burnings  and  scrapings. 

Their  stone  axes  and  flint  arrow  and  spear-heads  were 
produced  with  great  labor  and  much  ingenuity,  and  they 
necessarily  possessed  a  value  far  beyond  any  intrinsic. worth 
that  could  be  imputed  to  them.  A  hatchet  of  black  granite, 

127 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

the  favorite  material,  was  an  heirloom  that  descended 
from  father  to  son  for  generations.  These  implements 
were  ground  and  polished  to  so  fine  an  edge  that  they  could 
be  used  in  cutting  down  trees  and  hollowing  out  canoes; 
and  in  the  hands  of  a  determined  warrior  a  more  deadly 
weapon  could  hardly  be  imagined.  The  labor  required  to 
fashion  such  an  instrument  is  almost  inconceivable;  it  could 
have  been  accomplished  only  by  years  of  patient  effort.  In- 
deed, when  we  consider  that  these  people  had  no  tools,  and 
that  in  their  cutting  and  carving  they  were  dependent  upon 
grinding  one  stone  against  another,  the  wonder  as  to  how 
they  ever  accomplished  their  object  becomes  all  the  greater. 
No  civilized  workman,  with  the  best  of  modern  implements, 
can  surpass  the  neatness  and  accuracy  with  which  the  groove 
for  the  handle  of  an  Indian  hatchet  is  cut;  and  who  would 
not  regard  the  task  as  impossible  if  required  to  carve  the 
shanks  and  the  delicate  point  of  a  flint  arrow-head,  with  no 
tool  except  another  piece  of  flint?  Yet  the  Indians  manu- 
factured them  by  tens  of  thousands,  and  they  can  still  be 
gathered  up  by  the  bushel  on  their  ancient  battle-fields. 
Their  flint-knives  were  another  object  of  wonder,  though 
but  few  of  them  are  now  to  be  found.  They  were  polished 
to  so  fine  an  edge  that  they  were  used  for  shaving  the  hair  of 
the  head  into  the  scalp-lock  or  helmet  form  so  popular  among 
the  warriors  of  the  various  tribes,  as  well  as  cutting  the  few 
straggling  hairs  that  persisted  in  growing  on  the  faces  of 
the  men — for  it  is  an  error  to  suppose  that  Indians  had  no- 

128 


INDIAN  LIFE  AS  DE  SOTO  FOUND  IT 

beard.  The  writer  recalls  a  full-blooded  Osage  chief,  an 
acquaintance  of  former  years,  who  had  as  fine  a  mustache 
as  ever  graced  the  lip  of  a  cavalier.  It  was  their  custom 
to  extract  the  beard  in  youth  and  thus  to  a  great  extent  pre- 
vent its  growth. 

Aside  from  stone  and  flint  weapons,  the  other  imple- 
ments of  offense  and  defense  used  by  the  savages  were 
simple  in  form  and  easily  constructed.  The  bow,  of  course, 
was  a  universal  weapon  with  them,  as  it  has  been  with  all 
the  primitive  peoples  of  the  earth ;  and  some  of  the  Southern 
tribes  made  that  arm  of  such  tremendous  strength  and 
weight  that  when  the  magazines  of  arrows  were  exhausted 
the  warriors  clubbed  their  bows  and  used  them  with  telling 
effect.  This  was  the  case  in  one  or  more  of  the  battles  fought 
with  De  Soto  and  his  men.  The  propelling  power  of  these 
great  bows  was  sufficient  to  shoot  an  arrow  entirely  through 
the  body  of  a  Spanish  soldier,  cleaving  at  the  same  time  his 
steel  armor  both  in  front  and  behind.  If  the  savages  had 
been  as  expert  marksmen  as  the  English  archers  of  the  olden 
time,  the  Spaniards  could  not  have  stood  up  before  them. 

On  going  into  battle  the  warriors  protected  themselves 
with  shields,  breastplates  and  greaves.  The  shields  were 
made  of  green  bison  or  deer  hide,  overlaid  with  plaited  and 
twisted  thongs  of  skin;  and,  excepting  the  bows  already 
mentioned,  were  impervious  to  any  savage  weapon.  The 
greaves  were  composed  of  thin  but  very  tough  and  strong 
battens  of  wood,  interlaced  and  interwoven  with  thongs  and 

129 


cords  until  they  constituted  almost  a  solid  piece,  and  were 
yet  pliable  enough  not  to  interfere  with  the  motions  of  the 
wearer. 

As  the  Southern  rivers  were  free  from  ice  all  the  year 
round,  the  people  living  in  that  locality  had  become  expert 
canoemen,  as  well  as  fishers ;  and  we  shall  see  in  the  prog- 
ress of  this  history  that  their  knowledge  of  boat-building 
was  quite  extensive.  Some  of  the  more  powerful  chiefs,  or 
caciques  as  they  were  called  by  the  Spaniards,  had  founded 
navies  of  war-canoes  and  pirogues  powerful  enough  to  com- 
mand the  watercourses  against  all  opponents,  except  the 
Europeans  with  their  gunpowder  and  artillery.  Fish  were 
taken  with  hooks  and  by  nets,  the  latter  being  fabricated 
from  the  hempen  twine  already  described;  the  hooks  were 
composed  of  bone,  and  served  the  purpose  as  well  as  our 
modern  hooks  of  steel. 

The  pipe  was  everywhere  an  emblem  of  peace,  and  doubt- 
less for  this  reason  more  art  was  displayed  in  its  manu- 
facture than  any  other  implement  that  was  found  in  common 
use  among  these  people.  Pipes  were  usually  carved  from 
stone  by  the  warriors  during  their  long  periods  of  monoto- 
nous idleness;  but  some  were  made  of  burnt  clay,  orna- 
mented with  figures  and  rude  imitations  of  men  and  animals. 
They  also  possessed  a  few  culinary  utensils  of  the  same 
material;  but  they  had  not  acquired  that  facility  in  the 
manufacture  of  earthenware  that  characterized  the  more  an- 
cient and  peaceful  Mound-Builders. 

130 


INDIAN  LIFE  AS  DE  SOTO  FOUND  IT 

Among  all  their  manufactured  articles  wampum — small 
beads  made  of  shells — was  the  most  curious  and  universal, 
and  its  uses  were  too  varied  to  be  enumerated.  In  the  first 
place,  it  was  an  international  currency  among  all  the  tribes, 
passing  current  in  their  commercial  transactions  like  the  pre- 
cious metals  in  civilized  nations.  It  was  employed  also  as 
a  record  for  formal  treaties  but  in  a  manner  which  has 
never  been  clearly  explained.  Treaty  belts  were  wrought 
into  significant  devices,  generally  in  imitation  of  animals, 
birds,  serpents,  etc.,  whose  character,  representing  the  sub- 
stance of  a  compact  or  speech,  became  an  aid  to  the  memory. 
Skins  and  valuable  furs  were  likewise  used  for  the  same 
purpose.  All  their  treaties  were  preserved  by  memory, 
and  to  one  or  more  of  the  old  men  of  each  tribe  was  com- 
mitted this  honorable  and  onerous  office,  under  the  designa- 
tion of  keepers  of  the  wampum.  It  was  their  duty  to  re- 
member and  interpret  the  meaning  of  the  belts,  or  national 
records,  with  the  aid  of  the  explanatory  signs  and  devices. 
In  transmitting  overtures,  or  proposed  treaties,  the  wam- 
pum was  always  borne  by  some  distinguished  chief,  or  dep- 
utation of  chiefs,  who  explained  the  meaning  of  the 
characters  to  the  keepers,  in  order  that  no  mistake  might 
occur.  Most  of  the  tribes  had  a  system  of  rude  pictures 
and  arbitrary  signs,  drawn  with  the  juice  of  berries  on  pieces 
of  bark,  by  means  of  which  they  were  enabled  to  communi- 
cate ideas  with  a  tolerable  degree  of  precision. 

Wampum  was  made  from  the  inner  and  glossy  parts  of 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

mussel  and  oyster  shells,  carved  into  the  form  of  elongated 
beads,  and  strung  by  means  of  holes  pierced  through  the 
center.  How  this  delicate  task  was  accomplished  is  one  of 
the  unsolved  mysteries  of  this  strange  and  interesting  peo- 
ple. Worn  in  the  form  of  necklaces,  collars,  belts  and  brace- 
lets, wampum  was  the  chief  ornament  of  Indian  belles  at 
all  of  their  festivals  and  dances.  Several  of  the  Southern 
tribes  possessed  large  quantities  of  pearls,  which  were  worn 
like  wampum  for  personal  adornment,  and  valued  so  highly 
that  they  were  generally  buried  with  their  owners. 

Owing  to  the  mildness  of  the  climate,  the  Southern  In- 
dians were  to  a  large  extent  a  naked  people,  to  which  fact 
is  due  their  custom  of  anointing  their  bodies.  In  summer- 
time the  children  and  the  young  men  wore  no  clothing  at 
all,  while  the  warriors,  themselves  disdained  all  covering  ex- 
cept a  diminutive  breech-cloth  of  coarse  linen,  drawn  be- 
tween the  legs  and  fastened  by  a  transverse  cord  around  the 
waist.  It  was  the  substitute  for  the  traditional  fig-leaf 
of  ancient  lore.  When  on  the  war-path  or  hunting  in  the 
forest,  they  wore  moccasins  and  leggins  of  tanned  skin, 
as  a  protection  against  briars  and  brambles  and  the  fangs 
of  serpents.  Their  winter  dress,  like  that  of  the  Northern 
tribes,  consisted  of  skins  and  furs,  fashioned  into  robes 
which  they  threw  over  their  shoulders  and  wrapped  about 
their  persons  with  much  dignity  and  grace.  On  the  inner 
side  these  robes  were  decorated  with  paintings  and  devices 
to  suit  the  fancy  or  gratify  the  vanity  of  the  wearer.  They 

132 


INDIAN  LIFE  AS  DE  SOTO  FOUND  IT 

were  sometimes  embroidered  with  the  quills  of  the  poreu- 
pine,  or  bright-colored  feathers  of  birds,  a  species  of  orna- 
mentation which  added  much  to  their  appearance.  A  few 
of  the  chiefs  and  principal  men  disported  themselves  in 
splendid  feather  robes,  like  those  of  Mexico,  a  fashion  which 
no  doubt  came  from  that  country. 

The  young  warriors  were  as  careful  and  fastidious  about 
the  dressing  of  the  hair  as  a  modern  society  belle.  It  was 
worn  in  a  variety  of  grotesque  and  startling  fashions.  In 
some  instances  it  was  braided  tight  on  one  side  and  allowed 
to  flow  loose  over  the  shoulders  on  the  other;  again  it  was 
shaved  close,  with  the  exception  of  the  scalp-lock  or  a  few 
choice  tufts;  while  one  of  the  most  popular  styles  was  a 
roach  in  the  form  of  a  helmet,  bristling  across  the  center  of 
the  crown,  like  the  flowing  mane  of  a  horse,  or  the  bristles 
on  the  back  of  a  hyena.  When  in  full  dress  they  painted 
their  faces  in  patches  and  parallel  lines,  with  red  ochre, 
white  clay,  soot,  and  the  juices  of  berries,  until  they  pre- 
sented an  appearance  outlandish  and  hideous  enough  to  sat- 
isfy the  most  exacting  savage  taste.  On  going  into  battle, 
if  their  paints  were  not  convenient,  they  consoled  themselves 
by  dipping  their  hands  in  mud  and  smearing  it  over  their 
countenances,  with  a  view  to  frightening  the  enemy  by  the 
fierceness  of  their  aspect.  Their  noses  and  ears  were  or- 
namented with  the  beaks  of  birds,  the  claws  of  animals 
killed  in  the  chase,  and  the  tusks  of  alligators;  while  their 
stature  was  heightened  and  superior  dignity  lent  to  their 

133 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

demeanor  by  eagles'  feathers  stuck  straight  up  in  their  long 
hair.  It  was  their  custom  also  to  tattoo  their  bodies  with 
various  savage  devices,  which  in  their  estimation  enhanced 
their  personal  appearance  or  added  fresh  terrors  to  their 
warlike  front. 

The  summer  dress  of  the  women  consisted  of  a  kilt  of 
coarse  linen  cloth,  woven  grass,  or  plaited  feathers,  sus- 
pended around  the  waist  and  reaching  down  to  the  middle 
of  the  thighs.  These  feather  kilts,  however,  were  confined 
to  the  upper  classes,  and  were  regarded  as  evidences  of 
wealth  and  refinement.  On  festive  occasions  belles  and 
young  girls  appeared  in  all  the  glory  of  belts,  necklaces,  and 
bracelets  of  wampum  and  pearls,  in  addition  to  the  kilts. 
In  winter  the  women  covered  their  bodies  with  the  cast- 
off  robes  of  their  masters,  except  in  the  privacy  of  the  fam- 
ily lodge,  where  nature  unadorned  was  allowed  to  have 
its  way.  Their  long  black  hair,  gathered  with  a  thong  of 
deer-skin  behind  the  neck,  was  decorated  with  discs  of  bright 
metals,  beads  of  mussel-shells,  and  pieces  of  wampum  re- 
ceived in  exchange  for  personal  favors.  Every  influence 
of  native  delicacy  vanished  under  the  rude  surroundings  of 
their  domestic  life;  sometimes  as  many  as  eight  or  ten  fam- 
ilies being  crowded  into  the  space  of  a  single  lodge,  where 
privacy  was  impossible,  and  strangers  were  at  liberty  to  en- 
ter or  depart  at  any  hour  of  the  day  or  night.  Female  life 
among  the  savages  had  no  bright  side.  It  was  a  youth  of 
license  merging  with  marriage  into  a  life  of  drudgery  and 

134 


INDIAN  LIFE  AS  DE  SOTO  FOUND  IT 

ill-treatment.  In  early  spring  the  women  gathered  the 
year's  supply  of  fire-wood,  cleared  new  fields,  and  prepared 
for  the  annual  planting.  Then  came  the  sowing,  the  tilling, 
the  harvesting;  after  which  the  work  of  smoking  and  curing 
the  meat,  dressing  skins,  and  making  clothing  had  to  be 
done,  while  throughout  the  whole  routine  of  thankless  labor 
and  heartsick  weariness  there  was  the  daily  preparation  of 
food  and  a  compulsory  compliance  with  all  the  demands 
of  their  lords.  On  the  march  or  in  the  removal  of  their 
villages  it  was  the  woman  who  bore  the  burden;  for,  said 
Champlain,  who  knew  them  well  after  an  acquaintance  of 
more  than  twenty  years,  "  their  women  are  their  mules." 

Divorce  was  optional  at  the  will  or  caprice  of  either  party, 
but  it  was  hardly  ever  resorted  to  after  permanent  marriage 
and  the  birth  of  children.  Temporary,  or  experimental 
marriages,  were  sealed  merely  by  a  gift  of  wampum  or  a 
few  pearls  from  the  groom.  As  such  gifts  were  never  re- 
turned on  the  dissolution  of  the  compact,  an  enterprising 
damsel  might  lay  by  a  wealth  of  wampum  with  which  to 
decorate  her  person  for  the  village  dance;  for  she  was  at 
liberty  to  wed  a  hundred  times  if  she  had  the  opportunity. 
Conjugal  love,  as  it  is  known  among  civilized  peoples,  had 
no  place  in  the  social  system  of  the  American  Indians ;  nor 
was  there  ever  any  display  of  jealousy  by  either  party  to  a 
marriage  compact,  whether  temporary  or  permanent.  In 
this  respect  the  Indians  differed  even  from  the  animals;  they 
never  engaged  in  deadly  combats  for  the  possession  of  their 

135 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY, 

coveted  mates.  The  natural  sentiment  of  sexual  attachment 
seems  to  have  been  entirely  absent,  a  condition  due  doubt- 
less to  the  fact  that  children  were  begotten  for  the  tribe, 
not  for  the  parents.  All  offspring  belonged  to  the  nation; 
children  took  the  name  of  their  mother,  because  the 
father  might  be  any  male  member  of  the  tribe.  Among 
them  it  was  indeed  a  wise  child  that  knew  its  own  father. 

And  yet  no  race  was  ever  more  devoted  to  its  children 
than  the  Indians  were.  They  were  rarely  corrected  for 
any  fault,  and  never  with  any  degree  of  severity ;  they  ruled 
the  lodges  with  their  boisterous  impudence  and  unchided 
pranks.  All  children  were  loved  collectively,  because  they 
belonged  to  all  the  people,  and  were  the  hope  and  depend- 
ence of  the  nation  for  its  future  greatness  and  permanency. 

Many  other  facts  relating  to  the  customs  of  this  singular 
people  came  under  the  notice  of  De  Soto  as  he  lay  at  Acuera 
recuperating  his  men  and  preparing  for  his  onward  march. 
So  interesting  is  the  subject  that  when  once  entered  upon 
there  is  a  natural  feeling  of  reluctance  to  turn  away  from 
it;  yet  volumes  might  be  filled  with  the  experiences  and 
observations  of  the  early  explorers. 

Although  the  camp  had  been  securely  fortified  to  prevent 
any  sudden  surprise,  yet  the  Indians  lost  no  opportunity  to 
harass  them  with  every  form  of  savage  warfare.  The  men, 
when  alone  or  in  small  parties,  dared  not  venture  into  the 
woods  for  any  purpose,  but  were  compelled  to  go  with  suf- 
ficient strength  to  beat  back  the  opposition  they  were  sure 

136 


INDIAN  LIFE  AS  DE  SOTO  FOUND  IT 

to  encounter.  If  any  loitered  within  a  hundred  yards  of 
the  fortified  camp  they  were  picked  off  by  the  arrows  of  the 
watchful  savages;  and  unless  the  bodies  of  those  who  fell 
were  immediately  recovered  the  heads  were  severed  and  pre- 
sented to  the  reigning  chief,  while  the  trunks  were  quartered 
and  hung  at  night  in  trees  or  on  stakes  in  sight  of  their  sur- 
viving comrades.  Such  scenes  drove  the  Spaniards  to  mad- 
ness, and  induced  them  to  wreak  a  frightful  vengeance  on 
the  perpetrators  of  the  outrages.  While  the  entire  history 
of  Spanish  exploration  is  filled  with  acts  of  cruelty  and 
deeds  of  horror,  we  must  admit  that  they  had  no  lack  of 
provocation ;  though  it  is  equally  true  that  they  gave  the  first 
offense.  Fourteen  men  were  slaughtered  in  this  manner 
while  they  lay  at  Acuera,  and  more  than  fifty  Indians  were 
killed  in  retaliation.  Even  at  this  early  stage  the  expedi- 
tion promised  to  be  a  bloody  affair. 


137 


DIVISION  VI. 

Indian  Cities  and  Battles. 


HAVING  thoroughly  explored  the  country  in  the  vicinity 
of  Orange  lake,  without  finding  any  indications  of  gold  or 
silver,  and  learning  of  a  fertile  region  about  forty  miles  to 
the  northward  called  Ocali,  De  Soto  resolved  to  march  for 
that  place.  The  first  half  of  the  distance  was  over  a  thin 
and  barren  region,  covered  with  a  straggling  pine  forest; 
but  having  passed  this  they  entered  upon  a  fruitful  valley, 
thickly  inhabited  and  abounding  with  fields  and  gardens. 

On  arriving  at  Ocali  they  found  it  to  be  an  extensive  place, 
containing  more  than  six  hundred  houses,  with  a  population 
of  several  thousand  souls.  It  was  situated  on  the  south  bank 
of  a  considerable  stream,  doubtless  the  Santa  Fe  branch  of 

the  Suwanee  river ;  and  here  the  Spaniards  were  received  with 

• 
a  degree  of  hospitality  which  they  had  no  right  to  expect, 

and  which  they  requited  in  a  manner  that  was  disgraceful 
to  themselves  as  well  as  to  the  civilization  they  represented. 
Corn,  fruits  and  vegetables  being  found  here  in  abundance, 
De  Soto  ordered  another  halt,  while  he  sent  out  exploring 
parties  to  ascertain  the  conditions  of  the  country  still  further 
in  advance.  The  time  meanwhile  was  employed  in  the  con- 

138 


INDIAN  CITIES  AND  BATTLES 

struction  of  a  bridge  across  the  river ;  and  having  completed 
his  arrangements  and  captured  another  consignment  of  about 
thirty  Indians  to  serve  as  guides,  the  governor  ordered  the 
march  to  be  resumed. 

His  present  objective  point  was  a  rich  kingdom  called 
Vitachuco,  or,  in  the  Portuguese  tongue,  Palache,  which  was 
ruled  over  by  three  brothers,  who  had  a  large  army  and 
lived  in  great  state,  each  with  a  capital  of  his  own.  Here 
the  Spaniards  were  assured  they  would  find  the  object  of 
their  search,  as  both  gold  and  silver  were  plentiful  and  the 
people  lived  in  ease  and  opulence.  This  country  is  believed 
to  have  been  partly  within  the  present  limits  of  Hamilton 
County,  Florida,  and  the  story  of  the  opulence  of  the  in- 
habitants was  found  to  be  true,  though  of  course  they  had 
neither  gold  nor  silver.  They  did,  however,  possess  that 
which  was  far  more  valuable,  namely,  freedom,  contentment, 
and  an  abundance  of  everything  they  needed  to  make  them 
comfortable  and  happy. 

The  country  between  Ocali  and  Vitachuco  being  open  and 
level,  the  Spaniards  marched  rapidly,  and  at  the  end  of  the 
third  day  they  came  close  to  the  latter  place.  This  proved 
to  be  the  capital  of  the  younger  of  the  three  brothers,  whose 
name  was  Ochile ;  and  he,  being  at  peace  with  all  his  neigh- 
bors, anticipated  no  harm  and  was  not  as  watchful  as  he 
should  have  been ;  consequently  he  was  taken  completely  by 
surprise.  After  camping  in  the  forest  over  night,  the  Span- 
iards dashed  into  the  town  at  early  dawn  and  captured  the 

139 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

king  and  all  his  people  without  the  least  resistance.  The 
inhabitants  were  terror-stricken  by  this  sudden  and  marvel- 
ous irruption  into  their  midst.  But  De  Soto  treated  them 
kindly  and  bestowed  much  consideration  on  the  king, 
hoping  thus  to  gain  the  good-will  of  the  other  two  brothers 
through  whose  territory  he  had  yet  to  pass.  Vitachuco 
proved  to  be  a  fortified  town,  embracing  about  fifty  large 
houses  and  a  population  of  perhaps  a  thousand  people.  The 
surrounding  locality  being  a  very  rich  agricultural  region, 
many  of  the  inhabitants  lived  in  the  country  on  their  farms, 
instead  of  congregating  in  the  towns ;  a  fact  which  explains 
why  Ochile's  capital  was  not  larger. 

After  some  delay — for  the  Spaniards  were  in  no  hurry  to 
leave  so  pleasant  a  place — they  moved  forward  to  the  capital 
of  the  second  brother,  who  had  been  notified  of  their  coming 
and  was  propitiated  by  good  reports  from  Ochile.  On  this 
occasion  the  Spaniards  met  with  a  reception  so  friendly  as 
to  be  cordial,  and  which  ought  to  have  convinced  De  Soto 
that  with  proper  treatment  of  the  natives  he  might  have 
marched  from  one  end  of  the  land  to  the  other  without  the 
loss  of  a  man. 

Messengers  were  now  dispatched  to  the  third  member 
of  this  triumvirate  of  savage  monarchs,  who  being  the  eldest 
brother  held  the  chief  position  and  bore  the  name  of  the 
country  over  which  he  ruled.  He  was  greatly  displeased 
with  the  pacific  reception  which  his  younger  brothers  had 
given  to  the  Spaniards,  and  he  not  only  held  the  messengers 

140 


INDIAN  CITIES  AND  BATTLES 

as  prisoners  for  a  period  of  eight  days,  but  haughtily  refused 
to  hold  any  communication  with  the  foreigners.  He 
warned  De  Soto  against  the  danger  of  invading  his  terri- 
tory, and  upbraided  him  with  the  cruelty  and  treachery 
which  had  been  inflicted  upon  his  people  by  Narvaez.  Un- 
fortunately for  De  Soto,  he  was  pursuing  the  same  general 
route  which  had  been  followed  by  his  predecessor,  whose 
conduct  had  so  excited  the  resentment  of  the  people  that 
they  were  ready  at  the  sight  of  a  white  face  to  swarm  like 
a  nest  of  infuriated  insects. 

At  length,  however,  the  chief  manifested  an  altered  dis- 
position, appeared  to  regret  his  unfriendly  course  toward 
the  Spaniards,  and  sent  word  to  De  Soto  that  he  would 
submit  to  his  rule  and  furnish  him  with  everything  he  might 
desire.  The  governor,  alarmed  at  this  sudden  change  of 
policy,  and  suspecting  treachery,  determined  upon  a  whole- 
sale slaughter  of  the  inhabitants.  One  of  the  offers  of  the 
chief,  made  apparently  in  perfect  good  faith,  was  a  grand 
review  of  his  warriors,  with  an  opportunity  for  the  visitors 
to  witness  their  evolutions  and  the  perfection  of  tactics  under 
which  they  were  drilled.  It  seemed  merely  a  piece  of  vanity 
on  the  part  of  the  Indian  king,  to  make  a  show  of  his  power 
and  the  splendor  of  his  forces,  without  any  ulterior  purpose ; 
but  De  Soto  chose  to  take  a  different  view  of  the  matter,  and 
carefully  laid  his  plans  to  strike  a  blow  that  should  at  a  sin- 
gle sweep  place  the  nation  at  his  mercy.  He  therefore  noti- 
fied the  chief  that  he  too  would  make  a  display  of  his  forces 

141 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

on  the  same  occasion,  in  order  that  each  side  might  have  the 
pleasure  of  witnessing  the  evolutions  of  the  other.  The 
proposition  was  gladly  acceded  to  by  the  red  monarch,  who 
seemed  to  regard  it  as  an  evidence  of  good-will  on  the  part 
of  his  guests;  and  he  at  once  notified  all  his  people  of  the 
coming  display,  in  order  that  they  might  attend  and  enjoy 
a  scene  the  like  of  which  had  never  been  witnessed  in  their 
country.  The  natives,  simple-minded  and  trusting,  evi- 
dently had  not  the  slightest  suspicion  of  treachery,  for  on 
the  appointed  day  they  assembled  by  thousands  on  the  parade 
ground,  until  it  seemed  as  if  nearly  the  whole  nation  was 
present.  Men,  women  and  children  came  in  their  holiday 
attire,  and  gazed  wonderingly  on  the  men  with  white  faces 
and  long  beards,  bestriding  animals  that  seemed  even  fiercer 
than  themselves.  The  glitter  of  arms,  the  measured  roll  of 
drums,  the  flaunting  of  banners,  the  tossing  of  plumes,  and 
the  champing  and  neighing  of  the  war-horses  composed  a 
spectacle  that  wrought  the  savage  people  up  to  the  highest 
pitch  of  wondering  admiration. 

The  native  army  first  performed  its  evolutions,  and  then 
came  to  rest  in  columns,  waiting  for  the  advent  of  their 
guests.  At  the  blast  of  the  trumpet  the  Spanish  army 
moved  with  the  precision  of  trained  and  veteran  soldiers, 
marching  with  unsheathed  swords  and  poised  lances,  until 
the  head  of  the  column  reached  the  opposite  wing  of  the 
Indian  army;  when  suddenly  wheeling  about,  the  charge 
was  sounded  and  the  whole  force  was  precipitated  upon  the 

142 


INDIAN  CITIES  AND  BATTLES 

terrified  and  helpless  savages.  They  were  trodden  by  the 
horses,  pierced  with  lances,  and  cut  down  by  hundreds  with 
the  keen-edged  broadswords  of  the  Spanish  cavaliers.  The 
slaughter  was  frightful,  and  all  on  one  side,  for  the  In- 
dians were  taken  so  completely  by  surprise  that  none  of 
them  offered  the  least  resistance.  Within  a  few  minutes  five 
hundred  of  the  warriors  were  killed,  almost  on  the  very 
spot  where  they  stood,  for  the  onslaught  was  so  unexpected 
and  overwhelming  that  they  had  neither  the  time  nor  the 
opportunity  to  get  out  of  the  way.  It  was  like  the  deadly 
whirl  of  a  cyclone.  Besides  the  dead,  more  than  nine  hun- 
dred were  secured  as  prisoners  and  slaves,  the  remainder, 
including  most  of  the  unarmed  people,  escaping  to  the 
thickets  and  a  lake  which  lay  near  the  town.  The  king 
himself  was  taken  and  his  power  utterly  broken,  for  his 
choicest  warriors  either  lay  weltering  in  their  blood  or  were 
prisoners  in  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards. 

In  the  course  of  two  or  three  days  those  who  had  escaped, 
having  measurably  recovered  from  their  panic,  and  pre- 
ferring death  to  slavery,  came  out  of  their  hiding  places 
and  with  the  desperation  of  men  willing  to  die  threw  them- 
selves against  the  Spanish  columns.  But  it  was  a  hopeless 
effort.  Another  slaughter  like  the  first  ensued,  and  the  few 
survivors  were  again  driven  into  the  recesses  of  the  thickets. 
This  second  attack  gave  De  Soto  an  excuse  for  ordering  the 
butchery  of  all  his  prisoners.  A  general  slaughter  ensued. 
Some  were  cut  down  with  cimeters,  others  were  pierced 

143 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

with  lances  and  left  to  die  the  most  horrible  of  deaths, 
while  many  were  tied  to  stakes  and  trees  and  shot  to  pieces 
with  arrows  or  torn  by  dogs.  It  was  a  brutal  and  disgrace- 
ful exhibition  of  barbarity,  the  memory  of  which  lingered 
for  ages  in  the  minds  of  the  people  whose  friends  and  rela- 
tives were  thus  made  to  suffer.  De  Soto  justified  his  con- 
duct with  the  plea  that  he  merely  anticipated  the  purpose 
of  his  opponent,  who  he  claimed  had  planned  the  destruction 
of  his  entire  force;  but  the  circumstances  do  not  justify 
this  view,  and  the  name  of  the  Spanish  leader  must  ever 
bear  the  stain  of  an  act  that  makes  civilization  blush.  Cruel 
as  the  savages  were  in  the  treatment  of  their  enemies,  they 
never  surpassed  their  European  opponents  in  the  refinements 
of  barbarism;  and  they  had  some  excuse  for  their  conduct 
in  the  teachings  and  training  of  their  race. 

Five  days  after  the  massacre,  the  Spaniards  resumed 
their  northward  march,  moving  in  the  direction  of  a  country 
called  Osachile,  after  the  name  of  its  principal  town,  which 
lay  about  forty  miles  distant  from  Vitachuco.  But  news 
of  their  treachery  having  preceded  them,  they  had  ad- 
vanced only  about  twelve  miles  when  they  found  the  na- 
tives gathered  in  large  force  on  the  banks  of  a  considerable 
stream,  waiting  to  oppose  their  progress.  This  is  supposed 
to  have  been  the  Suwanee  river,  near  where  it  bends  to  the 
eastward,  although  the  information  is  not  quite  clear  on 
that  point.  The  Indians  vigorously  contested  the  passage 
of  the  stream,  but  the  country  being  open,  so  that  the  cavalry 

144 


INDIAN  CITIES  AND  BATTLES 

could  operate  with  good  effect,  they  were  soon  driven  away, 
with  a  slaughter  that  had  a  further  tendency  to  break  their 
spirit  and  increase  the  fear  and  horror  which  they  already 
entertained  for  the  Spaniards.  This  was  the  first  occasion 
on  which  these  Indians  had  ever  come  in  contact  with 
horses,  and  the  fierce  aspect  of  those  animals  as  they  were 
driven  against  their  unprotected  ranks  alarmed  them  even 
more  than  the  glittering  armor  and  keen  weapons  of  their 
riders. 

The  savages  having  been  routed,  large  rafts  were  con- 
structed on  which  the  army  passed  over  at  its  leisure.  The 
country  that  they  were  now  traversing  was  an  open  pine 
glade,  free  from  intervening  morasses  and  water-courses, 
and  they  moved  with  greater  ease  and  rapidity.  The  second 
day  after  crossing  the  river  they  arrived  at  the  village  of 
Osachile.  It  was  a  fortified  town  of  about  two  hundred 
houses,  capable  of  accommodating  a  thousand  or  fifteen 
hundred  people;  but  the  inhabitants  having  all  fled  on  the 
approach  of  the  invading  army,  the  Spaniards  occupied  the 
place  without  opposition. 

This  town  was  peculiar  in  its  construction,  and  of  such  a 
character  as  to  excite  the  admiration  of  the  Europeans. 
It  was  built  on  an  immense  artificial  mound,  which  had  been 
raised  with  infinite  labor  nearly  one  hundred  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  surrounding  country,  by  carrying  earth  from  the 
adjacent  plain.  On  the  summit  were  ten  or  twelve  houses, 
occupied  by  the  chief  and  his  family,  his  principal  officers 

H5 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

and  their  families.  This  portion  of  the  hill  had  been  formed 
into  a  citadel,  by  an  inner  wall  of  palisades  encircling  the 
entire  summit,  the  ascent  being  by  a  winding  avenue  lined 
on  both  sides  by  stout  pickets  made  of  the  trunks  of  large 
trees  planted  deep  in  the  ground.  Within  this  passage  were 
rude  steps,  made  of  logs  laid  transversely  and  partly  buried 
in  the  earth,  constituting  a  primitive  sort  of  "  covered  way  " 
which  a  handful  of  men  might  have  defended  against  hun- 
dreds. Near  the  foot  of  the  elevation  were  the  houses  of  the 
people,  circling  the  base,  and  beyond  these  was  another 
line  of  palisades  enclosing  the  whole  town.  The  hill  was 
so  steep  that  it  could  not  be  ascended  except  by  the  covered 
way  provided  for  that  purpose,  so  that  the  possibilities  of 
defense  rendered  the  place  almost  impregnable.  If  the 
Indians  had  made  a  stand  here  the  Spaniards  would  have 
found  it  a  very  dangerous  and  difficult  matter  to  dislodge 
them. 

The  season  being  now  well  advanced,  De  Soto  was  anx- 
ious to  push  on  to  the  far-famed  country  of  Appalache, 
where  he  hoped  to  spend  the  winter.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  this  was  the  same  region  which  had  possessed  so  great 
a  fascination  for  Narvaez  and  his  party,  by  reason  of  the 
fanciful  stories  which  their  guides  had  related  concerning 
the  quantities  of  gold  and  silver  that  were  to  be  found  there. 
The  same  stories  were  repeated  to  De  Soto;  and  he  was 
informed  while  at  Osachile  that  a  few  days'  march  would 
bring  him  into  the  country  where  all  his  hopes  were  to  be 

146 


INDIAN  CITIES  AND  BATTLES 

realized.  This  country  had  always  been  referred  to  by  the 
natives  as  the  richest  and  most  populous  on  the  continent; 
but  they  warned  the  Spaniards  that  the  intervening  region 
was  an  uninhabited  wilderness,  covered  with  forests  that 
were  almost  impassable  by  reason  of  the  density  of  the  trees 
and  interlacing  vines  and  brambles,  while  the  path  was 
obstructed  by  several  swamps  and  deep  morasses  which  they 
would  find  it  very  difficult  to  cross.  The  outlook  was  not 
inviting;  but  no  obstacle  could  curb  the  impatience  of 
the  adventurers  or  dampen  their  courage  and  resolution. 
Therefore,  after  a  two  days'  rest  at  Osachile,  they  pushed 
on  in  the  direction  of  the  new  land  of  promise,  which  they 
were  told  lay  at  a  distance  of  only  about  forty  miles. 

On  the  fourth  day  the  Spaniards  came  to  the  great  morass 
of  which  they  had  been  informed,  and  found  its  terrors  to  be 
no  less  than  the  natives  had  pictured.  It  was  a  wide 
swamp,  extending  over  a  space  of  about  five  miles,  covered 
with  immense  trees,  at  whose  roots  was  an  undergrowth  of 
vines,  brambles  and  briars,  so  thickly  entangled  as  to  be 
impassable  for  either  man  or  beast.  Even  the  sun's  rays 
could  not  find  their  way  through  this  dense  mass;  the 
gloom  of  perpetual  shade  covered  the  whole  region.  In  the 
center  of  the  swamp  was  a  large  shallow  lake,  a  mile  or 
more  in  width  by  several  miles  in  length,  which  they  would 
be  obliged  to  cross  even  should  they  succeed  in  pushing 
their  way  through  the  intervenig  obstructions. 

In  order  to  penetrate  this  dismal  region  a  narrow  path  had 

147 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

been  cut  by  the  Indians,  barely  wide  enough  for  two  men 
to  walk  abreast,  leading  between  walls  of  matted  vines  and 
thorns  that  rose  nearly  to  the  tops  of  the  trees.  The  path 
marked  the  way  to  the  lake  on  the  side  next  to  the  Spaniards, 
and  beyond  it  to  the  open  country  of  Appalache.  Its  whole 
length  was  defended  by  an  army  of  savages ;  who,  however, 
were  subjected  to  the  same  inconveniences  as  their  opposers, 
for  the  narrow  limits  of  the  opening  permitted  only  two  men 
on  each  side  to  engage  at  the  same  time. 

The  advanced  guard,  in  single  file,  now  entered  this 
gloomy  avenue,  dark  and  forbidding  as  the  gateway  to  the 
abodes  of  the  dead;  and  slowly  and  painfully  pressing 
against  the  savages,  drove  them  back  until  the  lake  was 
reached.  Here  both  parties  deployed  to  the  right  and  the 
left,  until  the  battle  raged  over  a  large  part  of  the  surface  of 
the  lake,  the  water  sometimes  rising  to  the  waists,  and  even 
the  necks,  of  the  combatants.  Quantities  of  tangled  roots, 
cypress-knees,  bushes,  briars,  and  fallen  trees  obstructed  the 
way,  or  were  hidden  by  the  murky  water,  and  over  these  the 
men  groped  and  stumbled  at  every  step.  If  any  fell  or  were 
wounded  there  was  no  help  for  them ;  they  sank  beneath  the 
flood  and  were  drowned.  It  was  a  horrible  exhibition  of 
the  brutal  passions  of  mankind,  unloosed  in  all  their  fury 
in  mutual  contention  for  mastery.  Reenforcements  were 
brought  forward  by  both  sides,  until  the  battle  became  gen- 
eral. De  Soto,  as  usual,  led  his  men  in  person,  appearing 
always  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight.  His  partial  chroniclers 

148 


INDIAN  CITIES  AND  BATTLES 

declare  that  so  great  was  the  strength  of  his  arm  and  so  keen 
the  edge  of  his  broadsword  that  wherever  he  dashed  against 
the  enemy's  line  he  cleaved  a  swath  through  it.  The  whole 
battle  indeed  was  little  better  than  butchery,  for  it  was  men 
and  horses  clothed  in  inpenetrable  armor  pitted  against 
naked  savages  of  the  forest. 

In  the  middle  of  the  lake  there  was  a  space  forty  yards  in 
width  too  deep  to  be  forded,  and  this  proved  to  be  the  most 
difficult  and  dangerous  portion  of  the  battle-field  for  the 
Spaniards.  The  infantry  dared  not  attempt  to  swim  under 
the  weight  of  their  armor,  but  by  holding  on  to  the  horses, 
or  with  the  aid  of  floating  logs,  the  greater  part  managed 
to  get  over ;  although  a  few  were  drowned.  It  seemed  as  if 
nothing  could  daunt  their  courage  or  drive  them  from  the 
face  of  danger.  They  were  a  band  of  unconquerable  heroes, 
and  if  their  conduct  had  been  as  generous  and  humane  as 
they  were  undoubtedly  brave,  the  record  of  their  deeds 
would  have  constituted  the  world's  greatest  epic. 

At  length  the  Indians  were  driven  from  the  lake,  but  they 
gathered  in  clouds  at  the  opening  of  the  path  on  the  opposite 
side,  hoping  to  prevent  the  Spaniards  from  gaining  a  foot- 
hold there.  Again  they  were  pressed  back  into  the  defile, 
which  they  defended  step  by  step,  as  they  had  done  in  their 
approach  to  the  lake,  until  they  came  to  the  open  timber 
beyond  the  swamp.  At  this  point,  in  anticipation  of  the  con- 
test, and  in  order  to  obstruct  the  movements  of  the  cavalry, 
the  Indians  had  felled  trees  and  bound  trunks  and  branches 

149 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

together  with  vines,  until  it  was  impossible  for  the  horse- 
men to  maneuver.  The  brunt  of  the  fighting  now  fell 
upon  the  infantrymen,  who  gradually  worked  their  way  into 
the  tangled  mass  and  forced  the  savages  back  into  the  open. 
But  in  doing  so  many  were  killed  and  wounded.  In  this 
mode  of  warfare  the  Indians  possessed  the  advantage,  for 
lying  concealed  in  the  thickets,  they  sprang  up  in  unsuspected 
places  and  discharged  their  arrows  in  the  very  faces  of  the 
white  men.  Quick  of  movement,  active  and  agile  in  leaping 
over  and  gliding  around  obstructions,  they  generally  man- 
aged to  elude  their  clumsy  opponents.  An  Indian  would 
shoot  a  dozen  arrows  while  a  harquebuser  discharged  and  re- 
loaded his  piece  a  single  time;  and  the  aim  of  the  one  was 
about  as  accurate  as  the  other.  A  savage  of  course  stood  no 
chance  when  he  came  within  reach  of  a  Spanish  lance  or 
cimeter,  but  this  was  rarely  the  case  in  the  thick  mat  through 
which  they  were  fighting. 

For  six  long  miles,  and  during  the  space  of  two  whole 
days,  this  style  of  fighting  continued ;  but  at  length  the  open 
woods  were  reached,  and  the  Spaniards  having  by  this  time 
brought  up  their  horses,  they  now  gave  a  loose  rein  to  their 
vengeance.  The  savages  were  ridden  down  and  killed  or 
scattered;  many  were  captured  and  chained  with  the  rest  of 
their  countrymen,  to  endure  the  horrors  of  slavery  or  die 
by  the  hands  of  their  unfeeling  masters. 

It  was  in  this  same  morass  where  Narvaez  and  his  men 
were  defeated  and  forced  to  return  to  the  sea;  and  as  De 

150 


INDIAN  CITIES  AND  BATTLES 

Soto  had  now  almost  reached  the  limit  of  his  predecessor's 
course,  he  had  every  reason  to  expect  a  more  prosperous 
advance. 

Having  cleared  the  way,  the  Spaniards  marched  many 
miles  through  an  open  and  populous  country,  abounding 
with  fields,  orchards  and  gardens,  which  supplied  them 
with  an  abundance  of  fresh  fruits  and  food.  For  some  days 
their  course  had  been  in  a  westward  direction,  when  at 
length  they  approached  the  banks  of  a  river  running  almost 
due  north  and  south.  This  is  supposed  to  have  been  the 
Aucilla  river  of  the  present  day,  which  empties  into  Ap- 
palachee  Bay,  and  was  at  that  time  the  boundary  line  be- 
tween the  Indian  provinces,  or  kingdoms,  of  Osachile  and 
Appalache.  Fortunately,  it  proved  to  be  the  last  barrier 
to  their  advance  into  the  latter  country.  The  Indians  had 
barricaded  the  road,  as  well  as  both  banks  of  the  stream, 
with  palisades  and  fallen  trees,  and  were  gathered  in  large 
force  behind  these  obstructions,  ready  to  dispute  the  passage 
of  the  river.  When  the  battle  opened  they  fought  with  the 
fury  of  desperation;  but  they  could  not  withstand  the  im- 
petuous onslaught  of  the  Spaniards.  The  red  men  were 
driven  from  every  position  with  the  usual  disastrous  results ; 
whereupon  the  victors  crossed  the  river  and  entered  the  ter- 
ritory of  Appalache  with  flying  colors. 

The  Spaniards  now  marched  northwesterly  a  distance  of 
nearly  three  leagues,  through  the  same  kind  of  country  with 
which  they  had  become  familiar  on  the  eastern  side  of  the 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

river.  It  was  a  continuous  stretch  of  level  land  and  fertile 
fields,  in  a  reasonably  good  state  of  cultivation.  They  were 
at  last  in  the  region  where  the  natives  had  all  along  as- 
sured them  they  would  find  gold  and  silver  in  abundance, 
but  they  could  readily  perceive,  from  the  character  of  the 
country,  that  nothing  of  the  kind  was  to  be  expected.  The 
disappointment  was  keenly  felt,  and  they  were  disposed  to 
lay  the  blame  and  the  punishment  for  nature's  oversight  on 
the  innocent  inhabitants.  On  every  hand  were  evidences 
of  prosperity  and  contentment;  but  the  adventurers  cared 
little  for  these,  so  long  as  their  thirst  for  the  precious  metals 
remained  unsatisfied. 

According  to  the  Indian  pronunciation,  the  name  of  the 
chief  town  of  this  province  was  Anhayca,  where  the  Span- 
iards arrived  within  a  few  hours  after  the  close  of  their 
latest  battle.  But  the  place  was  abandoned.  The  inhabi- 
tants had  fled,  leaving  their  homes  and  their  property  to  the 
mercy  of  the  invaders.  It  does  not  appear  that  Anhayca  was 
a  fortified  town,  but  the  event  proved  that  the  confederation 
of  tribes  occupying  the  country  of  Appalache  were  the 
most  warlike  and  intractable  of  all  the  nations  in  Florida 
which  the  Spaniards  had  yet  encountered. 

De  Soto  took  immediate  possession  of  the  place,  and  find- 
ing it  well  supplied  with  articles  necessary  to  the  comfort 
and  sustenance  of  his  army,  he  resolved  to  remain  there  dur- 
ing the  winter.  It  was  then  about  the  last  of  November, 
and  the  Southern  winter,  such  as  it  is,  was  at  hand.  The 

152 


INDIAN  CITIES  AND  BATTLES 

governor  installed  himself  in  the  house  of  the  chief,  the  men 
were  distributed  throughout  the  rest  of  the  town,  and  all 
prepared  to  make  themselves  comfortable  until  the  coming 
of  spring.  But  their  fancied  security  was  soon  roughly 
disturbed,  as  we  shall  see. 

It  is  difficult  at  this  time  to  compare  the  names  of  places 
and  rivers,  as  given  by  the  Spaniards,  with  our  modern 
geographies,  because  they  recorded  the  names  according  to 
the  guttural  pronunciation  of  the  natives.  Where  the  Indian 
designations  have  been  preserved,  the  places  can  be  located 
with  some  degree  of  accuracy;  but  as  this  has  rarely  been 
done,  we  must  rely  solely  upon  the  vague  descriptions  given 
in  the  journals  of  the  expedition.  The  location  of  the  town 
of  Anhayca  was  probably  on  or  near  the  margin  of  Micco- 
sukee  lake,  in  Jefferson  County,  Florida;  though  several 
careful  writers  have  placed  De  Soto's  first  winter  quarters 
a  little  east  of  Flint  river,  in  Georgia,  estimating  the  distance 
he  had  penetrated  toward  the  interior  as  being  about  one 
hundred  to  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles  north  of  St.  Marks. 
But  how  could  this  be  true  if  the  Spaniards  marched  only 
twelve  miles,  in  a  northwestward  direction,  after  their  battle 
with  the  Indians  at  the  crossing  of  Aucilla  river?  It  is  not 
altogether  unprofitable  to  study  this  subject,  for  there  are 
no  doubt  still  existing  remains  of  some  of  the  towns  visited 
by  De  Soto;  and  if  they  could  be  definitely  located  a  very 
considerable  historical  interest  would  attach  to  them  and  the 
sections  by  which  they  were  surrounded. 

153 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

The  province  of  Appalache,  or  Palache,  as  it  is  sometimes 
called,  was  undoubtedly  very  large,  embracing  a  great  con- 
federation of  tribes.  With  the  Aucilla  river  as  its  eastern 
boundary,  it  appears  to  have  extended  westward  to  the  Mis- 
sissippi river,  and  northward  into  the  mountainous  regions 
of  Alabama  and  Georgia.  There  were  chiefs  or  caciques 
within  this  region  who  ruled  over  large  towns,  commanded 
considerable  armies  of  trained  warriors,  and  employed  as 
much  state  and  ceremony  at  their  capitals  as  the  monarchs 
of  Europe.  We  get  some  inkling  of  this  from  the  journals 
of  the  De  Soto  expedition;  but  they  do  not  tell  us  the  half 
of  the  real  power  and  splendor  of  this  great  aboriginal  con- 
federacy, which  undoubtedly  surpassed  that  of  the  Iroquois 
in  resources  and  extent  of  territory.  The  inhabitants  were 
also  much  further  advanced  in  the  arts  and  refinements  of 
life,  and  were  less  savage  in  disposition  than  the  Northern 
Indians.  They  were  an  agricultural  people,  living  on  the 
fruits  of  their  industry,  rather  than  the  spoils  of  their  ene- 
mies. The  stories  of  their  greatness,  their  renown,  and  their 
wealth,  as  related  to  the  Spaniards  by  the  Florida  natives, 
had  not  been  overdrawn,  except  with  regard  to  the  precious 
metals;  for  while  these  existed  among  the  mountains  in  the 
northern  portions  of  the  confederacy,  the  people  of  Appa- 
lache were  not  familiar  with  them.  It  is  probable  that  the 
natives  did  not  understand  what  the  Spaniards  meant  when 
they  spoke  of  gold  and  silver,  but  presuming  that  they  had 
reference  to  wealth  in  general,  and  desiring  to  propitiate  as 

154 


INDIAN  CITIES  AND  BATTLES 

well  as  to  deceive  and  mislead  them,  they  colored  existing 
facts  in  a  manner  which  they  saw  was  pleasing  to  their  in- 
vaders. The  plan  met  their  expectations,  for  it  led  the  Span- 
iards into  the  wilderness,  into  regions  of  danger  and  death, 
which  finally  drove  the  survivors  back  to  the  sea. 

The  devastations  of  De  Soto's  army,  and  the  numerous 
defeats  and  massacres  which  the  Appalacheans  sustained, 
seem  to  have  broken  their  power  and  in  a  measure  dismem- 
bered the  confederacy;  for  when  the  French  explorers  be- 
gan to  visit  that  region,  a  century  and  a  half  later,  they 
found  no  evidence  of  the  grandeur  and  splendor  incidentally 
described  by  the  Spaniards.  In  order  that  we  may  gain  a 
clear  understanding  of  the  situation,  we  should  keep  the  fact 
steadily  in  mind  that  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  in- 
tervened between  the  irruption  of  De  Soto  and  the  advent 
of  the  French.  During  this  long  period  the  face  of  no 
white  man  was  seen  in  this  vast  region,  and  nearly  six  gen- 
erations of  red  men  passed  into  the  shadows  of  the  happy 
hunting  grounds.  Kingdoms  and  empires  might  have  risen 
and  disappeared,  and  civilizations,  imperfect  as  they  were, 
might  have  vanished  from  the  earth  during  this  stretch  of 
time.  These  events  did  undoubtedly  occur,  so  that  when 
the  French  came  they  found  a  state  of  things  very  different 
from  what  De  Soto  and  his  men  had  encountered.  No  man 
can  say  how  many  nations  and  races;  how  many  govern- 
ments and  empires;  how  many  different  civilizations  and 
confederations,  have  risen  and  flourished  and  disappeared 

155 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

within  the  confines  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  We  cannot 
conceive  the  wonders  that  lie  buried  in  the  sands  of 
this  marvelous  region,  which  nature  seems  to  have  intended 
as  the  world's  granary,  the  center  and  creative  force  of  the 
greatest  of  all  civilizations.  The  soil  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley  is  indeed  mingled  with  the  ashes  of  dead  em- 
pires. 

The  name  of  the  ruling  chief  of  Anhayca  was  Capafi,  and 
he  appears  to  have  been  one  of  the  most  implacable  sov- 
ereigns encountered  by  the  Spaniards  in  all  their  wander- 
ings. He  refused  utterly  to  have  anything  to  do  with  them, 
but  remained  concealed  in  some  inaccessible  place,  whence 
he  directed  the  movements  of  his  warriors  against  the  in- 
vaders. Their  foraging  parties  were  attacked  and  cut  off 
in  the  thick  woods  and  in  numerous  ambuscades,  until  they 
hardly  dared  to  venture  beyond  the  confines  of  their  forti- 
fied camp.  And  even  there  they  were  not  safe;  for  in  the 
dead  of  night,  or  at  break  of  day,  it  was  no  unusual  thing  for 
hordes  of  desperate  savages  to  precipitate  themselves  over  the 
embankments,  slaying,  cutting  and  hacking  every  European 
who  came  within  their  reach,  and  then  vanishing  in  the  dark- 
ness as  suddenly  and  mysteriously  as  they  had  come.  They 
lay  in  wait  to  shoot  with  arrows  or  pierce  with  darts  every 
man  who  ventured  beyond  the  works;  and  those  who  were 
so  unfortunate  as  to  fall  alive  into  their  hands  were  sub- 
jected to  fire  and  torture  as  a  warning  to  their  comrades. 
It  was  also  found  to  be  a  custom  of  these  Indians  to  scalp 

156 


INDIAN  CITIES  AND  BATTLES 

the  dead,  a  species  of  savage  indignity  which  they  had  bor- 
rowed from  their  Northern  neighbors,  and  which  did  not 
prevail  among  the  tribes  of  southern  Florida. 

But  in  spite  of  the  numerous  assaults  and  forays  of  the 
savages,  De  Soto  found  opportunities  during  the  winter  to 
send  out  exploring  parties  to  a  distance  of  forty  and  fifty 
miles  in  various  directions,  with  a  view  to  ascertaining  what 
conditions  he  might  expect  to  encounter  on  leaving  his  camp 
in  the  spring.  Some  of  these  parties  were  absent  as  long 
as  a  week  or  ten  days  at  a  time,  and  those  which  penetrated 
to  the  northward  reported  an  open  country,  free  from 
marshes  and  well  populated.  But  in  all  their  inquiries  and 
researches  they  could  find  no  trace  of  gold. 

Captain  Juan  de  Anasco,  one  of  the  most  intrepid  and  per- 
severing of  De  Soto's  officers,  at  length  led  a  detachment  of 
horse  and  foot  southward  until  they  reached  the  sea,  at  the 
place  where  Narvaez  had  made  his  last  encampment  and  built 
his  fragile  brigantines.  Here  the  natives  of  the  locality, 
who  were  familiar  with  all  the  circumstances,  pointed  out 
the  remains  of  the  camp,  the  forge,  the  wooden  troughs 
hewed  out  of  trees  for  feeding  the  horses,  and  the  bones 
and  skeletons  of  the  horses  themselves  which  had  died  or 
been  killed  for  food.  They  likewise  indicated  the  spot  where 
ten  men  had  been  waylaid  and  killed  by  their  people;  but 
de  Anasco  did  not  deem  it  prudent  to  attempt  any  retaliation 
for  this  incident.  The  locality  and  all  its  surroundings  af- 
forded a  melancholy  reminder  to  the  Spaniards  of  what  their 

157 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

own  fate  might  be;  and  they  returned  to  the  camp  of  their 
countrymen  with  forebodings  of  coming  evil. 

De  Soto  was  so  well  pleased  with  the  results  of  de  Anas- 
co's  discoveries  and  the  assurance  of  the  proximity  of  a  safe 
harbor,  that  he  directed  that  officer  to  return  to  the  camp  at 
Hirihigua,  with  a  company  of  thirty  lancers,  and  lead  the 
garrison  which  had  been  left  at  that  place  to  headquarters; 
and  also  to  order  any  ships  which  might  have  returned  from 
Cuba  to  repair  to  the  bay  of  Narvaez,  which  was  known 
among  the  Indians  as  the  Bay  of  Aute.  This  perilous  duty 
was  performed  in  the  most  successful  manner.  The  gar- 
rison at  Hirihigua  was  reached  and  conducted  by  de  An- 
asco  and  his  lancers  in  safety  to  Anhayca;  and  several  ves- 
sels lying  in  the  harbor  of  Tampa,  receiving  the  orders  of 
De  Soto,  made  their  way  in  due  time  to  the  Bay  of  Aute. 
Here  they  were  directed  to  proceed  westward  and  examine 
the  coast  for  some  other  convenient  harbor  more  distant  in 
that  direction,  where  supplies  were  to  be  brought  from  Ha- 
vana in  time  to  meet  the  expedition  in  the  fall;  for  it  was 
De  Soto's  intention  not  to  prolong  his  explorations  beyond 
that  period.  These  instructions  were  successfully  carried 
out  by  the  commander  of  the  fleet,  who  sailing  westward  a 
distance  of  more  than  two  hundred  miles,  discovered  the  bay 
of  Achusi,  or  Pensacola,  as  it  is  now  called;  whither  he 
returned  in  the  fall  of  1540  with  an  abundant  stock  of  sup- 
plies, of  which,  however,  De  Soto  never  availed  himself,  for 
reasons  which  will  appear  in  the  course  of  this  narrative. 

158 


INDIAN  CITIES  AND  BATTLES 

In  consequence  of  the  inveterate  hostility  of  Capafi's  peo- 
ple, and  the  constant  loss  of  men  and  horses  which  could  be 
illy  spared,  De  Soto  resolved,  during  the  winter,  to  find  the 
chiefs  hiding-place  and  capture  him.  This  proved  to  be 
a  very  difficult  undertaking,  but  success  finally  crowned 
his  efforts.  The  Indians  guarded  their  sovereign's  lurking 
place  with  the  most  loyal  devotion;  but  at  length  the  secret 
was  forced  from  them  by  the  torture.  The  place  proved  to 
be  in  a  dense  and  almost  impenetrable  forest,  about  twenty 
miles  distant ;  and  on  learning  this  fact  De  Soto  immediately 
selected  a  strong  detachment  of  horse  and  foot  and  set  out 
to  secure  the  chief.  The  road  passed  through  thickets  and 
morasses  precisely  like  those  which  they  had  encountered 
in  their  northward  march;  and  when  they  came  within  a 
short  distance  of  the  retreat  of  the  savage  king,  they  found 
that  it  was  located  in  a  cleared  space  in  the  midst  of  an  al- 
most impervious  forest,  through  which  a  narrow  path  had 
been  cut.  This  was  the  only  avenue  by  which  the  place 
could  be  reached,  and  it  was  obstructed  and  fortified  in  the 
most  remarkable  manner.  The  path  was  only  wide  enough 
for  one  or  two  men  to  walk  abreast,  the  thickets  of  under- 
brush and  vines  on  either  side  being  so  compact  that  no  one 
could  penetrate  them;  and  about  every  one  hundred  yards 
it  was  defended  by  transverse  rows  of  palisades,  or  fallen 
logs,  behind  which  were  stationed  parties  of  armed  warriors. 
The  cleared  space  at  the  end  of  the  path  was  fortified  in  a 


159 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

similar  manner ;  and  in  this  citadel  lay  Capafi  with  the  main 
body  of  his  warriors. 

It  was  De  Soto's  purpose  to  capture  the  chief  by  surprise, 
but  this  was  found  to  be  impossible,  for  the  reasons  just 
explained.  The  wary  savage  knew  the  character  of  the  men 
he  had  to  deal  with,  and  he  had  neglected  nothing  that  might 
inure  to  the  strength  and  security  of  his  position.  On  ap- 
proaching the  first  barricade  and  ascertaining  that  he  was 
discovered,  De  Soto  instantly  sprang  forward  to  the  attack, 
and  the  point  was  carried  in  the  midst  of  a  shower  of  hos- 
tile arrows.  The  Spaniards  then  forced  their  way  into  the 
narrow  path,  moving  steadily  onward  and  carrying  each 
successive  fortification  by  assault.  Many  were  wounded 
and  a  few  killed,  but  success  finally  crowned  their  efforts. 
Slowly  pushing  their  way  over  all  opposition,  fighting 
desperately  inch  by  inch  and  foot  by  foot,  they  at  length 
came  to  the  open  space,  or  inner  citadel,  where  the  chief 
stood  overlooking  as  splendid  an  array  of  warriors  as  ever 
gathered  together  to  do  battle  for  country  and  for  home. 
These  men,  reared  in  a  mild  climate,  accustomed  to  all  the 
food  that  their  physical  natures  required,  and  developed  by 
the  exercise  of  the  chase  and  the  warpath,  were  as  fine  spe- 
cimens of  manhood  as  the  Spaniards  had  ever  seen.  They 
were  indeed  an  army  of  giants.  Scarcely  one  of  them  was 
less  than  six  feet  in  height,  while  their  flowing  scalp-locks 
and  plumes  of  feathers  increased  their  apparent  stature  until 
they  seemed  at  least  a  head  taller  than  the  average  Spaniard. 

1 60 


INDIAN  CITIES  AND  BATTLES 

These  brave  and  now  desperate  warriors  greeted  the  ap- 
proach of  their  enemies  with  war-whoops  and  haughty  de- 
fiance, and  under  the  immediate  eye  of  their  chief,  who 
proved  himself  as  brave  as  the  bravest,  they  prepared  for 
the  contest  which  they  knew  meant  victory  or  death  for 
them.  The  severest  fighting  of  the  day  ensued;  the  havoc 
wrought  was  frightful.  Neither  party  thought  of  ask- 
ing or  accepting  quarter.  The  crash  of  the  harquebuses,  the 
rattle  of  the  broadswords,  the  swish  of  the  steel-pointed 
spears,  and  the  yells,  shrieks  and  imprecations  of  the  com- 
batants made  up  such  a  pandemonium  of  horrors  as  only  the 
realms  of  the  wicked  can  conceive.  The  Indians  apparently 
offered  themselves  willing  sacrifices  in  defense  of  their  chief. 
With  bared  bosoms  they  threw  their  naked  bodies  against  the 
line  of  steel  with  which  they  were  encompassed,  only  to 
sink  down  and  die  in  their  own  blood.  A  few  Spaniards 
were  wounded  with  arrows  shot  from  the  inner  lines,  but 
their  hurts  were  slight  and,  with  a  few  exceptions,  did  not 
prevent  the  men  from  remaining  in  the  field.  Meanwhile, 
the  ranks  of  the  savages  were  rapidly  thinning,  until  the 
greater  part  of  them  were  killed ;  whereupon  the  small  rem- 
nant was  surrounded  and  overcome  by  physical  force.  The 
chief  was  among  those  secured  as  prisoners. 

Chief  Capafi  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  that  the 
Spaniards  encountered  during  their  wanderings.  His  ability 
was  unquestioned,  and  he  wielded  an  influence  that  the  most 
powerful  of  monarchs  might  have  envied.  He  was  the  tall- 

161 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

est  among  his  warriors,  and  large  in  proportion.  In  fact 
his  corpulency  was  so  great  that  he  easily  deceived  the  Span- 
iards, and  devised  a  scheme  which  resulted  in  his  escape  the 
very  night  following  his  capture.  Seating  himself  on  the 
approach  of  De  Soto,  he  indicated  by  signs  that  his  physical 
infirmity  was  so  great  as  to  prevent  him  from  walking,  and 
that  he  would  have  to  be  carried  by  his  warriors.  Willing 
to  gratify  what  he  regarded  partly  as  a  whim  of  the  royal 
savage,  inspired  by  vanity  and  a  desire  to  make  a  show,  the 
governor  granted  his  request;  whereupon  four  stout  war- 
riors approached  with  a  litter  and  bore  their  sovereign  out 
of  the  enclosure.  He  was  carried  to  the  first  camping-place, 
where  the  guards,  deceived  by  the  ruse  of  the  wily  savage, 
paid  but  little  attention  to  him.  But  in  the  small  hours  of 
the  night,  when  heavy  drowsiness  had  fallen  upon  the  camp, 
the  chief  glided  swiftly  out  of  the  circle  of  the  firelight  into 
the  shadow  of  the  thick  woods,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few 
hours  his  war-whoop  resounded  through  the  forest,  an- 
nouncing his  escape  and  bringing  the  remnant  of  his  war- 
riors to  his  support.  But  so  many  of  them  had  fallen,  and 
the  stronghold  being  demolished,  the  Indians  could  not  sum- 
mon courage  enough  to  make  another  open  effort  against 
their  enemies;  though  they  lingered  near  the  camp  and  con- 
tinued to  cut  off  stragglers  and  small  foraging  parties  until 
the  Spaniards  moved  out  of  the  country  in  the  spring. 


162 


DIVISION  VII. 

Reception  by  the  Queen  of  the  Cofachiquians. 


EARLY  in  March,  1540,  De  Soto  broke  up  his  camp  at 
Anhayca,  and  set  out  in  a  northerly  direction  in  quest  of  a 
country  called  in  the  Indian  tongue,  Cofachiqui,  where  he 
was  told  by  his  guides  he  would  certainly  find  the  gold  and 
silver  he  so  much  coveted,  besides  great  quantities  of  pearls. 
This  country,  the  Indians  declared,  was  a  long  distance  to- 
ward the  northeast,  but  there  were  no  swamps  or  dark 
forests  intervening,  so  that  the  distance  might  be  covered 
in  a  comparatively  short  time.  Buoyed  up  with  the  now  al- 
most certain  hope  of  at  last  realizing  their  visions  of  wealth, 
the  Spaniards  gathered  themselves  together  and  pushed 
their  way  rapidly  in  the  direction  of  the  new  El  Dorado. 
One  is  disposed  to  smile  at  the  ease  with  which  they  were 
deceived,  and  the  singular  persistence  of  the  infatuation  that 
possessed  them. 

Their  course  led  them  through  open  forests  easily  trav- 
ersed, sprinkled  with  numerous  villages  and  cultivated  fields ; 
and  after  the  first  few  days,  when  they  had  penetrated  far 
enough  to  outrun  the  evil  reports  of  themselves,  they  found 
the  natives  gentle  and  hospitable,  and  very  confiding  in  dis- 
position. These  people  had  not  heard  of  the  treachery  and 

163 


10 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

cruelty  of  the  white  men,  and  they  welcomed  the  wonderful 
steel-clad  visitors  with  open  hands  and  generous  hearts. 
They  gathered  in  crowds  of  hundreds  along  the  line  of 
march,  gazing  in  awe  upon  the  swaying  and  clanking  col- 
umn. The  horses  attracted  their  chief  attention.  At  first 
they  would  not  believe  that  these  beasts  and  their  riders  were 
not  the  same  animal,  but  when  one  of  the  cavaliers  dis- 
mounted their  wonder  grew  into  amazement.  They  could 
not  sufficiently  admire  the  splendor  of  the  trappings,  nor 
cease  marveling  at  the  strange  beings  who  had  so  mysteri- 
ously appeared  in  their  country. 

At  length  on  coming  to  a  large  stream,  which  is  believed 
to  have  been  Flint  river,  in  Georgia,  and  which  they  probably 
reached  near  the  present  town  of  Newton,  in  Baker  County, 
the  Spaniards  crosse4d  to  its  western  shore,  and  pursued  their 
course  along  its  rich  bottoms  for  a  period  of  nearly  twenty 
days.  By  this  time  they  arrived  at  the  southern  part  of  the 
Cherokee  country,  called  in  the  native  tongue  Achalaque, 
high  up  within  the  present  limits  of  the  State  of  Georgia. 
Then  recrossing  Flint  river,  probably  near  the  northern 
limits  of  Mason  County,  they  struck  out  in  a  due  northeast 
course.  Within  the  next  twenty  days  they  forded  two  other 
considerable  streams,  probably  the  Ocmulgee  and  Oconee 
rivers,  near  the  present  sites  of  Macon  and  Milledgeville. 

While  still  on  the  west  side  of  Flint  river,  De  Soto  had 
received  a  visit  from  a  powerful  chief  in  that  locality,  who 
told  him  of  a  very  rich  country  in  the  west  called  Cosa,  where 

164 


RECEPTION  BY  THE  QUEEN  OF  THE  COFACHIQUIANS 

he  knew  the  yellow  and  white  metals  abounded  in  vast  quan- 
tities. This  was  very  likely  the  southern  portion  of  the 
State  of  Missouri,  where  lead  and  zinc  were  subsequently 
found  in  such  abundance.  It  would  require  no  stretch  of 
the  imagination  for  the  untutored  savage  to  suppose  that 
these  metals  were  what  the  Spaniards  were  seeking,  the  fact 
of  their  existence  being  well  known  to  the  Indians  of  that 
date. 

But  De  Soto,  resolving  not  to  be  led  aside  by  conflicting 
reports,  adhered  to  his  original  purpose,  and  turned  his 
course  toward  the  northeast  in  search  of  the  rich  province 
of  Cofachiqui.  The  natives  along  this  route  were  all  ex- 
ceedingly hospitable  and  friendly,  greeting  the  Spaniards 
everywhere  with  a  generous  welcome,  and  supplying  them 
freely  with  provisions  and  guides.  By  this  time  De  Soto 
had  learned  the  wise  lesson  that  it  was  better  to  treat  the 
Indians  justly  and  secure  and  retain  their  friendship  than 
to  be  constantly  fighting  them,  with  heavy  loss  to  himself 
in  men  and  materials.  He  accordingly  gave  strict  orders 
that  in  future  they  should  not  be  molested  in  any  of  their 
rights  or  property,  without  just  compensation;  and  that  his 
men  should  in  every  possible  way  seek  to  retain  their  friend- 
ship. This  was  the  policy  afterward  pursued  by  the  French 
in  their  intercourse  with  the  American  Indians;  and  in  the 
avoidance  of  ruptures  and  useless  wars  they  were  the  most 
successful  pioneers  that  ever  set  their  feet  on  the  continent. 

About  the  middle  of  May,  1540,  the  Spanish  army  came 

165 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

into  the  province  of  Cofachiqui,  which  covered  a  consider- 
able district  on  the  headwaters  of  the  Savannah  river.  The 
principal  town  is  believed  to  have  occupied  the  point  of  land 
between  the  junction  of  Broad  river  and  the  former  stream. 
But  in  spite  of  the  friendly  treatment  which  they  had  re- 
ceived of  late  from  the  natives,  the  foreigners  arrived  at  this 
place  in  a  broken  and  disheartened  state.  Many  difficulties 
and  hardships  had  beset  them  on  their  way,  in  portions  of  the 
country  that  were  not  inhabited.  On  one  occasion  they 
were  lost  for  three  days,  their  guides  themselves  were  be- 
wildered, their  supply  of  provisions  was  exhausted,  and 
starvation  stared  them  in  the  face.  Several  authorities  state 
that  except  for  their  herd  of  swine  the  Spaniards  would 
have  been  reduced  to  a  state  of  actual  suffering,  but  these 
thrifty  animals  had  increased  in  numbers  and  fattened  on 
the  mast  of  the  forest  during  the  whole  length  of  their  trav- 
els. Some  of  them  were  now  slaughtered  in  the  time  of 
need,  and  they  supplied  the  sustenance  which  kept  soul  and 
body  together  until  the  wanderers  came  once  more  into  a 
land  of  plenty. 

The  Spanish  army  was  made  up  of  men  whose  stomachs 
had  been  pampered  with  the  best  food  that  their  native  land 
produced,  and  swine's  flesh  and  the  coarse  hominy  and  maize 
of  the  Indians  seemed  but  a  poor  substitute  for  the  rich 
viands  of  the  old  country.  Two  centuries  after  their  fiery 
sweep  across  the  South,  the  same  region  was  invaded  by 
pioneers  of  Anglo-Saxon  lineage,  who  flourished  for  months 

166 


RECEPTION  BY   THE  QUEEN  OF   THE  COFACH1QUIANS 

and  years  on  the  trophies  of  the  rifles  and  the  natural 
products  of  the  soil.  But  while  nature  supplied  her  abun- 
dance with  a  prodigal  hand,  the  Spaniards  often  went  hun- 
gry, because  they  lacked  the  knowledge  of  what  was  fit  to 
eat.  On  every  hand  there  were  wild  berries  and  fruits,  and 
in  the  earth  bounteous  supplies  of  edible  roots ;  but  there  were 
no  experienced  cooks  among  the  adventurers  who  knew  how 
to  prepare  such  articles  for  the  table,  and  the  Spaniards 
hesitated  to  consume  them  raw  lest  they  should  be  poi- 
soned. 

The  streams  and  watercourses  abounded  with  ducks  and 
wild  geese,  swans,  pelicans  and  other  birds  that  would  have 
made  dishes  fit  for  kings — or  for  good  honest  people,  who 
have  always  been  better  than  the  best  of  kings ;  but  the  arms 
carried  by  the  men  of  Spain  were  of  such  make  and 
caliber  that  it  was  mere  chance  if  they  hit  a  full  grown 
savage,  much  less  a  duck  or  a  wild  goose.  Nearly  the  whole 
company  was  made  up  of  young  men  of  fashion,  who  hav- 
ing been  accustomed  to  a  retinue  of  servants  and  lackeys 
at  home,  had  never  been  taught  how  to  turn  their  hands  to 
any  of  the  practical  affairs  of  life;  hence  they  could  not  con- 
struct traps  to  catch  the  birds,  and  being  unable  to  shoot 
them  with  their  harquebuses  and  crossbows,  the  feathered 
inhabitants  of  the  watercourses  had  no  reason  to  fear  the 
white  hunter. 

At  length  their  sufferings  reached  a  stage  which  made 
them  desperate;  something  had  to  be  done.  In  every  In- 

167 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

dian  village  and  settlement  they  observed  packs  of  wolfish 
dogs,  making  themselves  as  free  in  the  homes  of  their 
masters  as  the  little  red  children  who  played  and  frol- 
icked in  their  own  naked  free  will.  The  children  and  the 
dogs  romped  together  during  the  day  like  fellows  of 
the  same  breed ;  and  at  night  they  slept  in  promiscuous  heaps 
to  keep  one  another  warm.  There  was  but  little  distinction 
between  the  two,  either  as  to  the  care  bestowed  upon  them 
by  their  elders  and  masters,  or  with  regard  to  the  fleas  and 
vermin  by  which  they  were  mutually  infested.  Unlike  the 
dogs  which  Coronada  had  seen  on  the  prairies  of  the  West, 
these  Southern  curs  had  no  bark;  and  their  ugly,  wolfish 
appearance,  together  with  their  habit  of  sneaking  silently 
about  the  villages,  had  aroused  intense  prejudice  against 
them  in  the  minds  of  the  Spaniards.  They  were  looked 
upon  almost  with  superstitious  dread  as  imps  of  the  devil; 
and  we  have  an  account  of  at  least  one  of  the  ugly  beasts 
that  was  tried  for  heresy  and  burnt  at  the  stake.  The  savory 
smell  of  his  roasting  body  excited  the  olfactories  of 
the  famished  explorers,  and  some  ventured  to  test  the  quality 
of  the  meat.  They  found  it  juicy  and  exceedingly  palatable ; 
and  from  that  date  roast  dog  became  a  daily  dish  on  their 
tables  when  they  had  nothing  better  to  satisfy  their  hunger. 
During  their  progress  through  the  country,  the  Spaniards 
had  been  greatly  interested  in  the  several  varieties  of  curious 
wild  animals  which  they  encountered.  Black  bears  existed 
in  considerable  numbers  in  the  cane-brakes  and  thick  forests 

1 68 


RECEPTION  BY  THE  QUEEN  OF  THE  COFACHIQUIANS 

of  the  lowlands,  but  these  did  not  much  excite  their  curiosity, 
because  all  Europeans  of  that  date  were  familiar  with  those 
animals.  But  they  had  observed  another  creature  more 
formidable  in  disposition,  somewhat  resembling  the  African 
lion,  for  which  reason  it  is  still  known  as  the  American 
counterpart  of  the  king  of  beasts.  This  animal  subsequently 
became  familiar  to  our  own  pioneers  under  the  name  of  cata- 
mount and  panther,  the  latter  being  sometimes  corrupted 
into  "  painter."  The  length  of  the  body  was  from  four  to ' 
four  and  a  half  feet,  with  a  tail  about  half  as  long  as  the 
body;  and  when  the  beast  was  in  a  passion  this  appendage 
was  lashed  ominously  from  side  to  side.  The  range 
of  the  panther  was  very  wide,  extending  from  the  southern 
limits  of  Canada  to  the  most  distant  regions  of  South 
America;  but  as  neither  De  Soto  nor  any  of  his  men  had 
ever  encountered  it  before,  they  regarded  the  beast  not  only 
with  curiosity,  but  with  a  considerable  degree  of  fear.  This 
was  due  in  a  measure  to  its  weird  shriek,  which,  heard  in  the 
dead  of  night,  was  horrible  enough  to  curdle  the  blood  in  the 
stoutest  heart.  No  Indian  warrior  ever  uttered  a  yell  that 
could  compare  with  the  fear-inspiring  cry  of  the  panther. 
It  rung  through  the  woods  like  the  agonized  shriek  of  a 
child,  or  the  shrill  blast  of  a  locomotive's  whistle.  Within 
the  recent  past  some  genius  has  invented  a  steam  instru- 
ment, whose  rising  and  falling  inflections,  shrill  quavers 
and  unearthly  concentric  blasts,  resemble  in  some  respects 
the  scream  of  the  panther.  No  wonder,  then,  that  the  Span- 

169 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY. 

iards  dreaded  the  beast,  and  gave  it  a  wide  berth  in  their 
passage  through  the  forests. 

But  the  panther  had  a  fastidious  appetite,  which  preferred 
fresh  venison  to  the  questionable  meat  of  foreign  adventur- 
ers. Its  habit  was  to  lie  concealed  among  the  overhanging 
branches  of  a  tree  until  its  unsuspecting  prey  came  within 
its  reach ;  when,  with  a  cry  that  rent  the  solitudes,  it  sprang 
upon  the  benumbed,  dazed  and  helpless  victim  and  cutting 
the  jugular  vein  with  its  large  tusks,  deliberately  drew  out 
the  life  blood.  This  animal  was  not  a  flesh-eater,  but  a 
venomous  blood-sucker.  Deer  after  deer  was  slaughtered 
merely  to  slake  the  panther's  sanguinary  thirst.  This  pro- 
pensity had  as  much  to  do  in  exciting  fear  and  hatred 
of  the  beast  as  the  unearthly  shriek  of  its  satanic  voice. 
But  taken  all  in  all,  it  was  not  a  dangerous  foe.  Cowardly 
by  nature,  it  fled  before  the  face  of  man,  except  when  fam- 
ished or  driven  to  fight  for  life  or  liberty.  If  captured 
while  young  it  became  as  docile  as  the  domestic  cat,  man- 
ifesting ardent  affection  for  all  who  treated  it  gently. 

The  animal  that  excited  perhaps  the  greatest  interest  on 
the  part  of  the  Spaniards  was  the  humble  and  much  despised 
opossum,  which  they  had  encountered  in  the  swamps  of 
Florida.  They  were  attracted  to  it  by  the  singular  manner 
in  which  the  mother  carried  her  young,  in  a  pouch  under 
the  body,  and  the  affection  which  she  bestowed  upon  them. 
The  little  ones,  no  larger  than  a  good-sized  mouse,  often 
numbered  as  many  as  twelve  or  sixteen  to  a  single  mother. 

170 


RECEPTION  BY  THE  QUEEN  OF  THE  COFACHIQUIANS 

She  carried  them  about  with  her  wherever  she  went,  their 
tiny  tails  twisted  around  hers,  or  attached  to  different  parts 
of  her  body.  At  the  slightest  alarm  they  scampered  into 
the  safety  of  the  pouch,  and  when  occasion  arose  the  mother 
would  defend  them  with  her  life.  But  the  opossum's  usual 
method  of  evading  danger  was  to  fall  upon  the  ground  and 
feign  death,  until  the  peril  was  past  or  a  combat  inevitable, 
,when  the  plucky  little  animal  would  fight  valiantly  for  its 
life  or  the  welfare  of  its  young.  It  nested  in  tufts  of  dried 
grass,  under  low  bushes,  or  the  roots  of  trees,  which  afforded 
protection  from  the  weather,  and  measurably  also  from  the 
incursions  of  beasts  of  prey  and  serpents.  Sometimes 
the  opossum  would  drive  the  ground  rat  or  squirrel  out  of 
its  home  and  appropriate  the  premises  to  its  own  use. 

The  Indians  taught  the  Spaniards  the  use  of  the  flesh  of 
this  curious  little  animal,  and  partly  through  necessity,  as 
well  as  from  choice,  they  became  confirmed  'possum  eaters. 
In  due  time,  as  they  progressed  farther  north,  they  added 
the  raccoon  to  their  bill  of  fare ;  though  this  was  done  with 
some  misgiving  and  hesitation,  for  raccoon  meat  is  not  a 
dainty  dish. 

As  already  stated,  food  supplies  were  abundant  had  the 
Spaniards  only  known  how  to  secure  and  utilize  them;  but 
they  were  like  a  company  of  reckless  and  vicious  children 
turned  loose  in  the  wilderness.  They  were  incapable  of  em- 
ploying the  means  which  nature  had  placed  at  their  disposal 
for  their  comfort  and  necessity. 

171 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

Among  the  birds  that  flitted  through  the  forest  or  floated 
on  the  surface  of  the  streams,  none  excited  the  interest  of 
the  wanderers  more  than  the  wild  turkey,  which  at  that  time 
roamed  in  large  flocks  over  the  greater  portion  of  the  North 
American  continent.  These  flocks  often  numbered  several 
hundred  distinct  birds,  and  when  they  rose  in  flight  to  escape 
danger,  or  to  seek  their  roosts,  the  noise  of  their  wings 
sounded  like  hoarse  thunder.  It  was  a  weird  and  awe-in- 
spiring sound  when  heard  unexpectedly  in  the  gloom  of  the 
forest  either  at  night  or  during  the  day.  The  turkey  was 
then  entirely  unknown  in  Europe,  the  first  species  being  ex- 
hibited in  England  a  few  years  later  by  William  Strickland, 
a  navigator  who  had  sailed  with  Sebastian  Cabot.  Had  the 
Spaniards  been  familiar  with  the  bird  and  its  habits,  they 
might  readily  have  supplied  themselves,  from  that  source 
alone,  with  all  the  meat  they  needed ;  for  it  roosted  at  night 
in  dense  flocks  and  clusters,  where  scores  might  have  been 
killed  by  a  single  discharge  of  a  blunderbus. 

Had  the  Spaniards  understood  the  means  of  supplying 
their  own  needs  they  might  have  fared  better  in  the  wilds 
of  America  than  they  had  been  accustomed  to  in  their  own 
beloved  Spain;  for  in  addition  to  the  wild  game  that 
abounded  in  forest  and  stream,  there  were  any  number 
of  inanimate  articles  of  excellent  and  nutritious  food,  either 
springing  spontaneously  from  the  earth  or  cultivated  in  the 
miniature  fields  and  gardens  of  the  natives.  Among  these 
were  the  white  and  sweet  potato,  the  yam,  the  tomato,  and 

172 


RECEPTION  BY   THE  QUEEN  OF   THE  COFACHIQUIANS 

an  endless  variety  of  nuts,  fruits  and  edible  plants  that  might 
have  been  transformed  into  delicious  salads  and  greens. 
They  had  no  reason  whatever  for  going  hungry,  except  their 
own  ignorance  of  the  bounties  of  nature  so  lavishly  displayed 
on  every  hand. 

The  Indians  cultivated  several  kinds  of  vegetables  be- 
sides their  inevitable  beans  and  corn;  also  a  species  of  wild 
turnip  and  two  or  three  varieties  of  apples  and  pears,  which 
though  inferior  in  quality  and  taste  were  nevertheless  very 
desirable  articles  of  food.  Plums,  as  large  and  delicious  as 
any  that  could  be  found  in  Spain,  grew  wild  in  the  woods 
or  flourished  about  the  houses  and  in  the  fields  of  the  natives. 
There  were  likewise  several  kinds  of  grapes  which  the  In- 
dians had  partly  domesticated  from  the  surrounding  wilder- 
ness; among  which  were  the  predecessors  of  our  far-famed 
Scuppernong  and  Catawba.  In  Florida  the  woods  were 
green  and  gold  with  the  growing  and  ripening  fruits  of  many 
varieties,  inviting  the  Spaniards  to  pluck  and  eat.  Why 
they  turned  from  all  these  and  satisfied  their  hunger  with 
the  flesh  of  dogs  and  swine  is  one  of  the  inexplicable  vagaries 
of  the  Spanish  character. 

The  white,  or  Irish  potato,  as  every  one  knows,  is  a  na- 
tive of  America,  where  the  Indians  had  cultivated  it  for 
centuries  before  Columbus  came.  De  Soto  ought  to  have 
been  familiar  with  it,  for  this  delightful  tuber  had  already 
been  introduced  into  his  country  from  the  Isthmian  region. 
The  Spaniards  were  not  a  race  that  took  readily  to  new 

173 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

things,  except  such  as  had  the  tinge  of  gold;  and  they  al- 
lowed Sir  Walter  Raleigh  to  rob  them  of  the  glory  of  nam- 
ing one  of  the  greatest  food  products  of  modern  times,  by 
planting  the  potato  in  Ireland  as  late  as  1586. 

The  great  preponderance  of  evidence,  so  great  indeed  as 
to  be  almost  conclusive,  also  gives  the  sweet  potato  and  the 
yam  to  America;  though  some  claim  that  these  roots  had 
their  origin  in  the  East  Indies.  Let  that  be  as  it  may,  we 
shall  claim  the  sweet  potato,  and  most  assuredly  the  yam, 
as  American  products,  for  the  Indians  had  grown  and  eaten 
them  for  so  many  centuries  before  Columbus  was  born  that 
they  had  not  even  a  tradition  of  their  origin;  and,  like  the 
grateful  people  that  they  were,  they  assigned  them,  along 
with  tobacco,  corn  and  beans,  as  special  gifts  from  the  Great 
Spirit  to  his  beloved  red  children.  It  was  a  favorite  legend 
among  the  aborigines  that,  in  very  early  times,  an  angel 
came  down  from  heaven  and  sat  upon  the  ground,  and  when 
she  departed  corn  sprang  up  where  her  right  hand  had 
rested,  beans  where  her  left  hand  touched  the  ground,  and 
tobacco  on  the  spot  where  she  sat. 

The  tomato  was  cultivated  by  the  Indians  merely  to 
gratify  their  esthetic  taste,  for  they  had  no  idea  of  its  dainty 
lusciousness  as  a  vegetable.  Its  adoption  as  an  article  of 
food  is  so  recent  that  there  are  people  still  living  who  re- 
member when  it  was  cultivated  in  their  grandmother's  gar- 
dens under  the  name  of  "  love  apple." 

While  De  Soto  and  his  men  were  traversing  the  very 

174 


A  VISIT  FROM  THE  QUEEN  OF  THE  CAFACHf&UI. 

/^NNE  of  the  most  delightful  diversion*  from  the  hardship*  and  perils  of  De 
^•y  Soto's  march  was  a  visit  which  he  received  from  the  beautiful  and  richly 
adorned  queen  of  the  Cafachiqui,  a  powerful  Indian  nation  more  cultivated  than 
any  other  encountered  by  De  Soto.  This  jysit  was  made  while  the  Spaniard* 
were  on  the  banks  of  French  Broad  River,  where  it  uriites  with  the  Savannah, 
and  opposite  an  Indian  city,  which  besides  being  substantially  built,  was  laid  out 
in  streets  and  squares  with  perfect  regularity,  a  truly  remarkable  »ight  to  behold 
in  the  wilderness. 


1 1;  and  ; 
te  glory  of  r 
,f  modern  times,  by 
586. 

cat  inde 


.    •• 

! 


;    l    31 

•gnisc 

i 


RECEPTION  BY  THE  QUEEN  OF  THE  COFACHIQUIANS 

garden-spot  of  the  world,  surrounded  on  every  hand  with  a 
profusion  of  the  necessaries  and  luxuries  of  life,  they  were 
so  short-sighted  and  improvident  as  to  be  frequently  on  the 
verge  of  starvation.  Meanwhile  food  dangled  before  their 
eyes  or  strewed  the  earth  with  plenty,  begging  them  to  eat 
and  be  satisfied.  Even  the  fish  in  the  rivers  were  so  abund- 
ant that  they  nibbled  at  the  feet  of  the  wanderers  as  they 
waded  through  the  water,  almost  begging  to  be  caught  and 
served.  Our  sympathies  do  not  go  out  very  strongly  to  men 
wiio  persist  in  dullness  so  dense  as  to  be  phenomenal.  The 
horse  that  is  led  to  water,  but  will  not  drink,  should  not 
complain  if  he  dies  of  thirst. 

In  their  march  across  the  country  the  Spaniards  had  been 
repeatedly  assured  that  the  nation  of  Cofachiqui,  lying  far 
toward  the  northeast,  was  governed  by  a  beautiful  queen, 
who  lived  in  a  fine  palace  and  dressed  in  the  most  splendid 
robes  of  birds'  feathers  and  woven  cloth.  It  was  the  custom 
of  this  queen  every  morning  to  bathe  in  a  river  that  flowed 
by  the  garden  of  her  palace,  and  to  anoint  her  person  with 
certain  delicious  oils  and  perfumes  extracted  from  plants 
and  flowers ;  so  that  wherever  she  went  she  diffused  a  frag- 
rance that  was  most  delightful  to  the  senses.  Her  people 
were  intelligent  and  progressive,  living  in  fine  houses, 
supplied  and  furnished  with  abundant  comforts;  and  wear- 
ing shoes  and  clothing  made  of  the  finest  dressed  skins, 
while  their  persons  were  adorned  with  rich  mantles  of  feath- 
ers and  fabrics  woven  from  a  woody  fiber  resembling  silk. 

175 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

These  representations  were  found  in  a  large  measure  to  be 
true,  for  the  Cofachiquians  were  the  most  civilized  and  cul- 
tivated people  that  the  Spaniards  encountered  in  all  their 
wanderings  on  the  continent. 

On  approaching  the  south  bank  of  Broad  river,  where  it 
unites  with  the  Savannah,  De  Soto  observed  on  the  opposite 
shore  a  scene  of  the  greatest  splendor.  A  native  town,  for- 
tified and  laid  out  with  regular  streets  and  squares,  occupied 
the  point  between  the  rivers;  while  along  the  bank  of  the 
smaller  stream  was  a  great  concourse  of  people,  well-dressed 
and  orderly.  On  an  open  space  or  square  immediately 
fronting  the  river,  an  army  of  considerable  proportions  was 
drawn  up  in  columns  and  battalions,  composed  of  tall  and 
fine-looking  warriors,  dressed  in  a  uniform  of  cloth  that 
glistened  in  the  sunlight.  Plumes  of  feathers  waved  from 
their  long,  black  hair;' and  their  arms  and  accouterments, 
consisting  of  bows,  arrows,  spears,  shields  and  greaves,  were 
oiled  and  polished  until  they  reflected  the  rays  of  the  sun 
like  the  steel  armor  of  the  Europeans.  It  was  the  most 
splendid  spectacle  that  the  Spaniards  had  yet  seen,  and  they 
waited  with  impatience  and  some  degree  of  apprehension  for 
an  explanation  of  its  meaning. 

Presently,  through  an  opening  in  the  ranks  of  the  army, 
the  queen  herself  was  seen  approaching,  borne  on  a  palan- 
quin shaded  by  a  canopy  of  bright  colored  feathers.  Her 
dress  consisted  of  a  feather  kilt,  covering  her  person  from 
the  waist  to  the  knees;  on  her  feet  were  moccasins  of  the 

176 


RECEPTION  BY   THE  QUEEN  OF   THE  COFACHIQUIANS 

finest  tanned  leather,  embroidered  with  beads  and  flashing 
with  pearls;  around  her  ankles,  wrist  and  arms  she  wore 
broad  bracelets  of  pure  gold,  and  rings  of  the  same  precious 
metal  dangled  from  her  ears;  while  her  entire  person  was  en- 
veloped in  a  robe  of  many  colors  and  the  finest  texture, 
composed  of  feathers  and  silken  cloth.  On  her  head  was  a 
circlet,  or  crown,  of  pearls,  ornamented  with  plumes  of 
white,  red  and  blue  feathers;  while  depending  from  her 
neck  and  falling  down  over  her  well  rounded  bosom  were 
strings  of  the  same  glossy  brilliants.  All  this  the  Span- 
iards could  dimly  perceive  in  the  distance  across  the 
river. 

As  the  procession  drew  near  the  bank,  the  queen  was  as- 
sisted out  of  the  palanquin  by  several  of  her  chief  officers, 
who  conducted  her  down  a  pair  of  wooden  steps  to  the  royal 
barge  which  lay  moored  at  the  wharf.  This  was  a  vessel  of 
considerable  proportions,  hewn  out  of  a  single  large  tree, 
and  ornamented  along  the  sides  and  at  the  stern  and  prow 
with  carvings  and  painted  characters  of  various  devices. 
Over  the  stern  was  a  canopy  of  silken  cloth,  supported  by  a 
lance,  and  beneath  it  was  spread  a  carpet  and  cushions  ready 
to  receive  the  beautiful  person  of  the  royal  sovereign.  A 
dozen  canoemen  of  splendid  proportions,  dressed  in  uniform 
and  wearing  helmets  of  feathers  on  their  heads,  arose  and 
respectfully  poised  their  oars  as  the  queen  approached  and 
took  her  seat  in  the  barge;  when,  bending  their  brawny 
arms  to  the  task,  the  vessel  shot  out  from  the  wharf  and  spun 

177 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY. 

its  way  across  the  stream  like  a  thing  of  beauty  or  a  ship 
of  the  fairies. 

As  it  approached  the  south  bank,  the  queen  with  a  single 
graceful  movement  dropped  her  robe  on  the  cushions  and 
sprang  lightly  to  the  shore,  her  now  almost  nude  person  re- 
vealing all  its  beautiful  outlines  and  rounded  curves,  orna- 
mented with  pearls  that  glittered  like  diamonds  in  the  sun- 
light. Without  a  pause  or  the  least  show  of  embarrassment, 
she  singled  out  De  Soto  as  the  leader  of  the  company  of 
strangers,  and  drawing  near,  welcomed  him  and  his  people 
to  her  country.  As  the  governor  dismounted  and  in  an  at- 
titude of  homage  drew  near  this  fairy  queen,  she  took  a 
heavy  string  of  pearls  from  around  her  neck  and  with  a 
single  graceful  movement  threw  it  over  his,  indicating  by 
this  ceremony  that  so  long  as  he  remained  her  guest  there 
should  be  no  distinction  between  them.  It  was  indeed  the 
act  by  which  she  raised  him  to  the  level  of  the  throne.  She 
presented  him  also  with  mantles  of  feathers  and  native 
threads  made  from  the  fibers  of  trees ;  and  upon  his  principal 
officers  she  bestowed  many  gifts  of  rich  and  costly  pearls. 
The  abundance  of  these  brilliants  which  the  Spaniards  saw 
on  every  hand,  convinced  them  that  they  had  at  last  arrived 
in  a  country  capable  of  satisfying  their  wants ;  for  they  rea- 
soned that  a  land  which  produced  pearls  in  such  profusion 
must  also  be  rich  with  the  precious  metals.  But  they  soon 
learned,  in  their  intercourse  with  the  natives,  that  they  were 
not  familiar  with  those  metals,  the  only  specimens  they  knew 

178 


RECEPTION  BY  THE  QUEEN  OF  THE  COFACHIQUIANS 

anything-  about  being  the  bracelets  and  anklets  worn  by  their 
queen ;  and  these  had  been  in  possession  of  the  royal  family 
for  so  great  a  length  of  time  that  even  the  oldest  chief  could 
not  tell  whence  they  came. 

The  Spaniards  were  now  conveyed  across  the  river  and 
quartered  in  the  town,  where  every  comfort  and  want  was 
supplied  by  the  generous  natives,  under  the  orders  and  direc- 
tions of  their  queen.  De  Soto,  as  the  chief  of  the  visitors, 
became  the  personal  guest  of  the  queen,  and  was  supplied 
with  apartments  in  the  palace.  Indeed  this  beautiful  royal 
personage  went  to  the  utmost  limit  of  hospitality,  entertain- 
ing her  visitor  after  the  manner  of  Solomon  and  the  Queen 
of  Sheba,  who  is  said  to  have  visited  the  Jewish  monarch 
mainly  with  a  view  of  becoming  the  founder  of  a  race  of 
wise  men. 

When  the  natives  were  questioned  concerning  the  large 
number  of  pearls  which  they  were  seen  to  possess,  they  re- 
plied that  their  rivers  abounded  with  them,  and  that  it  was 
their  custom  on  the  death  of  any  person  to  bury  all  his  pearls 
with  him,  in  order  that  he  might  enjoy  them  in  his  spiritual 
abode.  No  sooner  did  the  Spaniards  learn  this  than  they 
opened  the  graves  of  the  natives  and  desecrated  the  dead  in 
their  search  for  the  wealth  stored  there.  In  this  manner  they 
secured  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  weight  of  the 
stones;  but  they  proved  of  little  value,  as  they  had  all  been 
bored  with  some  heated  instrument  which  destroyed  their 
lustre.  Yet  the  Spaniards  were  glad  to  be  thus  convinced 

179 
11 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

that  pearls  existed  in  such  quantities  in  that  country,  and 
they  appeared  to  feel  no  shame  for  the  outrageous  manner 
in  which  they  had  violated  the  rites  of  hospitality. 

The  men  now  begged  to  be  permitted  to  settle  in  that 
province  and  found  a  colony,  believing  that  they  would  soon 
enrich  themselves  by  enslaving  the  people  and  compelling 
them  to  gather  pearls  and  search  for  the  precious  metals; 
but  De  Soto,  having  become  fully  convinced  that  gold  and 
silver  did  not  exist  in  that  region,  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  their 
prayer,  and  sternly  notified  them  that  they  must  prepare  to 
march.  His  proud  spirit  brooded  over  his  disappointment 
in  not  finding  the  chief  object  of  his  search,  and  his  altered 
manner  was  manifest  in  the  sternness  with  which  he  ad- 
dressed his  followers.  On  their  part,  they  displayed  their 
dissatisfaction  in  murmurs  and  complaints,  and  vented  their 
spite  in  overt  acts  against  the  natives.  They  not  only  robbed 
the  graves  of  the  dead,  but  they  broke  into  the  houses  of 
the  living  and  stole  their  household  goods  and  idols;  and 
in  general  conducted  themselves  in  so  outrageous  a  manner 
that  the  Indians  withdrew  their  hospitable  overtures,  and 
would  have  attacked  and  driven  the  ungrateful  strangers  out 
of  the  country,  except  for  the  dread  of  their  prowess.  The 
Indians  specially  abhorred  the  sacrilege  of  the  tombs  of  their 
ancestors,  and  they  became  sullen,  threatening  and  vindictive 
in  their  demeanor  and  bearing.  Yet  no  overt  act  was  com- 
mitted. 

Among  the  spoils  of  the  cemetery  of  the  chiefs  were  found 

1 80 


RECEPTION  BY  THE  QUEEN  OF  THE  COFACHIQUIANS 

several  pieces  of  old  armor  and  a  dagger  of  Damascus  steel, 
which  were  recognized  as  having  belonged  to  the  unfor- 
tunate expedition  of  de  Ayllon.  These  articles  had  been 
taken  in  battle,  either  with  de  Ayllon's  men  or  with  other 
tribes  of  Indians  who  had  been  the  original  captors,  and 
having  thus  become  the  spoils  of  conquering  chiefs  they 
were  buried  with  them  on  their  death.  The  relics  were 
seized  upon  as  a  fresh  cause  of  complaint  and  used  as  a 
justification  for  outrages  practised  upon  the  natives.  They 
were  accused  of  having  murdered  Spaniards  who  had 
visited  their  country,  and  failing  to  give  a  satisfactory  ex- 
planation of  the  matter,  they  were  subjected  to  still  further 
indignities. 

It  appears  from  information  obtained  at  the  chief  town  of 
the  Cofachiqui  nation,  that  de  Ayllon  had  penetrated  into 
their  territory,  and  it  will  therefore  not  be  amiss  to  briefly 
notice  the  career  of  this  adventurer,  whose  wanderings 
were  thus  connected  with  those  of  De  Soto. 


181 


DIVISION  VIII. 

Exploits  of  De  Ayllon. 


BUT  little  attention  was  given  by  early  Spanish  writers 
to  the  adventures  of  De  Ayllon.  Brief  and  disconnected 
references  occur  here  and  there,  but  of  such  a  character  as  to 
give  no  connected  account  of  the  explorations  of  this  truly 
remarkable  man. 

Previous  to  1520,  Fernandina,  near  the  line  between 
Florida  and  Georgia,  was  the  most  northern  point  to  which 
any  Spaniard  had  carried  the  flag  of  his  country.  Beyond 
that  lay  a  country  called  by  the  Indians  Chicorea,  within 
whose  confines  it  was  believed  the  sacred  river  Jordan 
flowed — for  so  very  meager  was  the  knowledge  of  geogra- 
phy at  that  date !  The  Spaniards,  whose  minds  were  involved 
in  all  the  pious  superstitions  of  the  age,  imagined  that  if  they 
could  find  the  sacred  river  and  plunge  their  bodies  beneath 
its  flood,  they  would  not  only  be  cleansed  of  all  disease,  but 
endowed  with  perpetual  youth  and  immortality.  It  was 
another  variation  of  the  story  of  the  Fountain  of  Youth, 
which  had  so  infatuated  Ponce  de  Leon  and  his  followers  as 
to  lead  them  to  their  ruin. 

But  there  was  another  motive,  as  powerful  in  its  action  on 

182 


EXPLOITS  OF  DE  AYLLON 

the  Spanish  mind  as  the  desire  of  endless  life,  and  it  spurred 
that  people  onward  in  their  efforts  to  lift  the  veil  of  secrecy 
that  covered  the  interior  of  the  North  American  continent. 
The  gold  mines  of  Mexico  and  Peru,  as  well  as  the  extensive 
plantations  which  had  been  established  in  Cuba,  Hispaniola, 
and  elsewhere,  required  a  great  and  continuous  supply  of 
slaves ;  for  the  Indians,  who  had  been  reduced  to  this  service, 
being  unaccustomed  to  labor,  soon  languished  and  died  under 
the  hardships  and  cruelties  that  were  imposed  upon  them  by 
their  barbarous  and  insensible  masters. 

It  was  believed  that  Florida  and  the  country  of  Chicorea 
contained  populations  large  enough  to  furnish  all  the  slaves 
that  might  be  required  for  ages  to  come;  and  accordingly, 
in  1520,  a  company  of  wealthy  miners  fitted  out  an  ex- 
pedition of  two  vessels  in  Hispaniola,  or  Santo  Domingo  as 
it  is  now  called,  and  placed  them  under  command  of  Lucas 
Vazquez  de  Ayllon,  then  a  member  of  the  superior  court  of 
that  province,  directing  him  to  proceed  to  the  continent 
and  secure  as  many  slaves  as  his  vessels  would  carry.  He 
was  advised  also  to  penetrate  the  country  of  Chicorea,  and 
if  possible  discover  the  river  Jordan,  in  order  that  the  whole 
Spanish  nation  might  have  an  opportunity  to  bathe  and  be- 
come immortal. 

The  vessels  sighted  land  near  Fernandina,  where  Ponce 
de  Leon  had  anchored;  but  de  Ayllon  having  in  mind  the 
success  of  both  the  enterprises  with  which  he  had  been 
charged,  kept  on  up  the  coast  until  he  came  to  a  consider- 

183 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

able  river  in  latitude  32°  north.  Then,  as  he  saw  the 
great  volume  of  sweet  water  pouring  into  the  sea,  tested  its 
excellent  flavor,  and  viewed  its  limpid  clearness,  he  became 
convinced  that  the  object  of  his  search  had  been  found;  and 
swinging  his  ships  into  the  estuary  at  the  mouth  of  the 
stream,  he  bestowed  upon  it,  with  great  ceremony  and  pomp, 
the  name  of  the  river  Jordan.  Some  have  contended  that 
this  was  one'  of  the  South  Carolina  rivers,  probably  the 
Santee;  but  the  latitude  and  other  facts  connected  with  the 
discovery  give  strength  to  the  belief  that  it  was  the  Sa- 
vannah river. 

The  Indians  of  that  locality  had  never  previously  been 
visited  by  Europeans,  and  they  flocked  to  the  shores  in 
large  numbers  to  admire  the  fair  skins  and  long  beards  of 
the  men  of  the  ships,  and  to  gaze  in  admiration  on  their 
polished  armor  and  the  marvelous  "  canoes  "  with  white 
wings  that  lay  at  anchor  in  the  river.  But  when  one  of  the 
cannons  was  discharged  they  fled  in  terror  to  the  wilderness, 
and  it  was  thereafter  with  the  utmost  difficulty  that  they 
could  be  induced  to  return.  At  length  a  bold  chief  or  two 
having  ventured  near  enough  to  receive  some  presents, 
among  which  were  several  pieces  of  preserved  fruits  and 
some  sweetened  water  containing  a  little  lime  juice,  the  curi- 
osity of  the  rest  overcame  their  fear,  and  they  crowded  by 
eager  hundreds  down  to  the  shore,  and  even  allowed  them- 
selves to  be  taken  on  board  the  fleet.  There  they  admired 
everything  with  the  innocent  curiosity  of  children,  gesticulat- 

184 


EXPLOITS  OF  DE  AYLLON 

ing  and  conversing  with  one  another  in  loud  and  wondering 
tones,  until  a  sufficient  number  having  been  enticed  below 
to  fill  the  holds  of  the  vessels,  the  hatches  were  suddenly 
closed,  the  sails  unfurled,  and  the  ships  moved  on  even  keels 
out  into  the  sea. 

Some  time  elapsed  ere  the  Indians  became  aware  of  the 
treachery  which  had  been  practised  upon  them,  for  the  ves- 
sels sailed  so  smoothly  that  they  did  not  know  they  were 
in  motion  until  they  saw  themselves  passing  out  from  be- 
tween the  capes  into  the  broad  ocean;  then,  terrified  and 
panic-stricken,  many  broke  away  from  their  captors  and 
threw  themselves  into  the  sea,  where  they  were  drowned. 
The  rest  were  crowded  into  the  foul  and  stinking  holds  of 
the  ships,  where  hundreds  died  of  suffocation  and  sea  sick- 
ness, intensified  by  fright  and  the  impure  air  which  they 
were  compelled  to  breathe. 

During  the  passage  to  Santo  Domingo,  a  violent  storm 
arose,  and  one  of  the  vessels  having  lost  her  rudder  and 
masts  rolled  for  some  time,  like  a  log  in  the  trough  of  the 
sea,  and  finally  went  to  the  bottom  with  all  on  board.  The 
other  ship  succeeded  in  reaching  her  destination,  but  such  of 
the  Indians  as  remained  alive  brooded  in  sullen  and  melan- 
choly silence,  refusing  all  food  and  sustenance,  until  they 
perished  miserably  soon  after  landing.  It  was  one  of  the 
virtues  of  the  American  Indian  that  he  preferred  liberty  to 
life. 

The  failure  of  this  enterprise,  instead  of  breaking  the  spirit 

185 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

of  de  Ayllon,  or  letting  any  of  the  light  of  merciful  humanity 
into  his  flinty  heart,  only  nerved  him  to  other  and  more 
extended  operations.  Repairing  to  Spain,  he  laid  before 
the  Emperor  the  possibilities  of  extending  his  dominion  over 
the  vast  territory  of  Chicorea,  rich  in  soil  and  timber,  in 
gold,  silver  and  pearls,  and  with  a  population  sufficient  to 
supply  all  the  slaves  that  the  subjects  of  his  majesty  might 
need  for  generations  to  come.  Charles  listened  eagerly  to 
the  story  of  wealth  and  power  that  was  poured  into  his  ear, 
and  granted  all  that  de  Ayllon  asked.  This  was  nothing 
less  than  the  government  of  the  country  and  authority  to 
subdue  the  inhabitants  by  force  of  arms.  No  limits  were 
fixed  to  the  boundaries  of  his  prospective  empire,  but  he 
was  advised  to  push  his  endeavors  eastward  and  northward 
until  he  found  a  passage  to  India !  The  school  boys  of  our 
day  laugh  at  such  ignorance,  but  it  was  the  hope  of  rinding 
a  passage  to  the  South  Sea  through  the  continent  of  Amer- 
ica that  inspired  the  efforts  of  nearly  all  the  early  naviga- 
tors. 

De  Ayllon  now  squandered  his  fortune,  which  he  had 
acquired  in  the  mines  of  Mexico  and  on  his  plantations  in 
Hispaniola,  in  preparing  his  ships  and  equipping  his  little 
army.  Authorities  differ  as  to  the  number  of  his  vessels 
and  the  size  of  his  force,  but  he  is  supposed  to  have  sailed 
with  a  fleet  of  six  ships  and  five  hundred  sailors  and  sol- 
diers, besides  a  number  of  women. 

The  fleet  arrived  in  the  mouth  of  the  Jordan  during  the 

1 86 


EXPLOITS  OF  DE  AYLLON 

summer  of  1525.  Here  the  largest  of  the  ships  becoming 
unmanageable,  ran  ashore  and  went  to  pieces.  The  In- 
dians had  not  forgotten  the  previous  visit  of  the  men  with 
white  faces  and  long  beards,  nor  the  cruel  treachery  which 
had  been  meted  out  to  their  people;  but  they  dissembled 
their  resentment,  and  lulled  the  invaders  into  a  sense  of 
security  by  a  false  display  of  hospitality  and  friendship. 
At  the  same  time  they  were  planning  the  destruction  of  the 
entire  company,  and  went  about  the  accomplishment  of 
their  purpose  with  a  cunning  that  was  characteristic  of  the 
race. 

Having  completed  their  arrangements,  the  Indians  in- 
vited the  Spaniards  to  a  grand  feast  at  their  principal  vil- 
lage, which  lay  three  leagues  in  the  interior.  De  Ayllon 
having  been  completely  thrown  off  his  guard,  and  believing 
that  the  country  was  already  subdued,  allowed  himself  to  be 
drawn  into  the  trap.  The  invitation  was  accepted,  and  at 
the  appointed  time  the  greater  part  of  the  Spanish  force 
went  unarmed  to  the  village;  de  Ayllon  himself  remaining 
with  a  few  men  to  guard  the  ships.  The  Spaniards  were 
entertained  and  feasted  royally  for  three  days;  dishes  of 
meats  and  vegetable,  fruits  and  viands  being  served  to  them 
in  abundance,  and  of  a  quality  and  richness  with  which  they 
had  never  been  familiar  in  their  own  country.  Among  the 
food  and  drinks  offered  them  were  certain  narcotics  and  in- 
toxicants, which  by  the  end  of  the  third  day  had  so  overcome 
and  stupefied  them  that  they  were  utterly  helpless.  Then 

187 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

the  hour  of  vengeance  having  arrived,  the  savages  fell  upon 
their  unconscious  enemies  and  massacred  every  one  of  them. 
Not  a  single  Spaniard  escaped  to  carry  the  tidings  to  his 
commander. 

At  break  of  day  the  following  morning  the  whole  force 
of  Indians  attacked  the  guards  whom  de  Ayllon  had  taken 
the  precaution  to  station  on  the  shore,  so  suddenly  and  with 
such  astonishing  ferocity  that  but  few  of  them  escaped. 
The  governor  himself  was  wounded  in  his  efforts  to  relieve 
the  men ;  but  being  carried  back  to  his  ship,  and  learning  the 
fate  of  the  party  that  had  visited  the  Indian  village,  he  or- 
dered the  return  of  the  fleet  to  Hispaniola. 

It  would  seem  that  his  repeated  failures  and  disasters 
would  have  tamed  the  spirit  of  de  Ayllon,  but  on  the  con- 
trary they  inspired  him  with  a  courage  more  restless  and 
daring  than  ever.  At  the  same  time  his  experiences  had 
the  effect  of  taming  his  ferocity,  and  one  of  his  ships  having 
returned  with  a  cargo  of  savages,  he  caused  them  to  be  fed 
and  kindly  treated;  and  in  the  beginning  of  1526,  accom- 
panied by  a  fleet  under  his  personal  command,  he  returned 
them  to  their  native  country  and  set  them  free.  This  noble 
act  and  his  subsequent  career  indicated  so  complete  a 
change  of  heart  that  he  seemed  scarcely  like  the  same  person ; 
and  this  dual  character  has  been  the  cause  of  much  confusion 
on  the  part  of  historians  in  recording  the  deeds  of  this  ex- 
traordinary man.  Some  have  represented  him  almost  in 
the  light  of  a  demon  incarnate,  enslaving  the  savages, 

188 


EXPLOITS  OF  DE  AYLLON 

thirsting  for  the  blood  of  his  enemies,  and  committing  out- 
rages that  shame  the  very  name  of  mankind;  while  others 
have  painted  him  as  a  benevolent  and  far-seeing  statesman 
and  patriot,  devoting  his  life  to  the  glory  of  his  country. 
The  two  characters  appear  indeed  to  have  been  embodied 
in  the  same  person,  and  he  seems  to  have  set  apart  the  later 
years  of  his  life  in  a  large  measure  to  atone  for  the  wicked- 
ness of  his  earlier  career. 

On  his  third  expedition  to  the  continent,  he  landed  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Santee  river,  within  the  present  limits  of  South 
Carolina,  and  explored  the  coasts  thence  northeastward  as 
far  as  Chesapeake  Bay.  Ascending  that  fine  inland  sea  to 
its  source,  he  is  said  to  have  discovered  the  Susquehanna 
river,  and  to  have  sailed  up  that  stream  some  distance  into 
the  present  territory  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania. 

On  de  Ayllon's  return,  he  founded  a  settlement  on  the 
James  river,  on  the  future  site  of  Jamestown,  to  which  he 
gave  the  name  San  Miguel  de  Guandape ;  and  there  he  died 
of  swamp  fever  on  the  i8th  of  October,  1526. 

Worse  men  than  de  Ayllon  have  had  monuments  erected 
to  their  memory;  and  if  it  were  possible  to  find  his  grave,  or 
any  remains  of  the  settlement  that  he  established,  it  might 
not  be  out  of  place  to  perpetuate  the  name  of  a  man  who, 
on  realizing  the  enormity  of  his  wrongs,  was  great  enough 
to  make  atonement  for  them. 

Soon  after  the  death  of  de  Ayllon  his  colony,  which  had 
been  reduced  to  less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  persons, 

189 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

abandoned  the  settlement  and  returned  to  Hispaniola;  and 
in  the  course  of  events  this  Spanish  effort  to  found  an  empire 
in  Chicorea,  embracing  the  territory  now  occupied  by  the 
States  of  Georgia,  the  Carolinas,  Virginia,  Maryland,  and  a 
portion  of  Pennsylvania,  was  forgotten. 


190 


DIVISION   IX. 
Defeat  of  Black  Warrior,  Chief  of  the  Alabamas. 


HAVING  spent  several  weeks  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  hos- 
pitality of  the  queen  of  the  Cofachiquians  and  her  people, 
a  hospitality  which,  as  we  have  seen,  was  grossly  abused  by 
the  Spaniards,  De  Soto  resolved  to  continue  his  march  in  a 
northwestwardly  course.  He  had  already  sent  an  expedi- 
tion in  that  direction,  and  by  this  means  learned  that  he 
would  soon  approach  a  vast  range  of  mountains,  which  his 
men  reported  as  being  impassable.  But  it  was  also  asserted 
that  these  mountains  contained  gold — as  indeed  they  did — 
which  was  sufficient  inducement  to  decide  the  future  course 
of  the  expedition. 

About  the  first  of  June,  1540,  the  march  was  resumed,  and 
to  prevent  any  outbreak  on  the  part  of  the  Cofachiquians 
while  passing  through  their  territory,  De  Soto  resolved  to 
carry  their  queen  with  him  as  a  prisoner.  This  gross  breach 
of  hospitality  was  accordingly  perpetrated.  The  queen  was 
compelled  to  accompany  the  army,  though  she  was  allowed 
to  ride  in  her  palanquin  of  state,  and  was  treated  with  every 
mark  of  respect  due  to  her  high  office  and  excellent  char- 
acter. A  number  of  her  subjects  were  also  compelled  to 

191 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

accompany  the  expedition  as  slaves  and  burden-bearers,  and 
were  made  to  serve  as  hostages  for  the  good  conduct  of 
their  countrymen.  This  was  a  plan  which  De  Soto  had 
learned  during  his  campaigns  in  Mexico,  and  it  was  no  less 
effective  in  the  present  instance  than  it  had  been  in  the  past. 

It  was  now  the  governor's  purpose  to  penetrate  the  moun- 
tains, or  skirt  their  bases  if  he  found  them  too  rugged,  and 
return  by  a  southwestward  course  to  the  Bay  of  Achusi, 
where  he  hoped  to  meet  his  ships  with  fresh  supplies.  The 
route  of  march  led  along  the  head  waters  of  the  Cattahoochee 
river,  until  they  came  into  the  territory  of  the  Cherokee  In- 
dians, which  bordered  Cofachiqui  on  the  north  and  west. 
This  region  was  found  to  be  mountainous  and  comparatively 
sterile,  and  the  natives  peaceable  and  very  domestic  in  dis- 
position. At  first  they  fled  from  the  Spaniards,  concealing 
themselves  in  the  woods  and  among  the  rocks;  but  a  few 
who  were  bold  enough  to  venture  into  the  camp  having  been 
kindly  treated,  the  rest  came  flocking  back  to  their  homes, 
and  gladly  supplied  the  travelers  with  everything  they 
needed. 

The  people  were  on  friendly  terms  with  the  Cofachiquians, 
and  taking  advantage  of  this  state  of  affairs  the  queen  made 
her  escape  and  returned  to  her  own  people.  As  that  region 
was  not  visited  again  by  white  men  for  nearly  two  cen- 
turies, we  have  no  further  information  concerning  this  in- 
teresting woman  or  her  nation.  When  Oglethorpe  and  his 

colony  came  to  people  Georgia,  in  1733,  the  Cofachiquians 

192 


DEFEAT  OF  BLACK   WARRIOR 

and  their  civilization  had  vanished  into  the  mysterious  past ; 
but  among  the  savages  who  succeeded  them  were  found  a 
number  of  persons  in  whose  veins  the  blood  of  Spanish  an- 
cestry undoubtedly  flowed ;  and  of  these  it  is  more  than  pos- 
sible that  some  were  descendants  of  the  beautiful  queen. 
What  a  field  for  the  imagination  of  the  romancer  do  we  find 
in  these  curious  and  interesting  details! 

On  coming  into  the  mountainous  region  of  northern 
Georgia,  the  Spaniards  directed  their  course  almost  due 
west,  and  after  marching  twenty-two  days  along  the  foot- 
hills of  the  Appalachian  chain,  they  arrived  at  a  village  called 
Ichiaha,  situated  on  a  branch  of  the  Coosa  river,  in  what 
is  now  Floyd  County,  Georgia.  The  location  of  this  village 
is  believed  to  have  been  on  or  near  the  site  of  the  present 
city  of  Rome,  where  De  Soto's  camp  is  still  preserved  as  a 
public  park. 

While  resting  there,  the  governor  was  informed  by  the 
Indians  that  "  a  yellow  metal "  was  to  be  found  in  a  region 
about  forty  or  fifty  miles  to  the  northward,  and  he  there- 
upon despatched  a  party  to  explore  that  section.  They  re- 
turned after  ten  days  without  any  information  concerning 
gold;  but  bringing  with  them  as  their  only  trophy  a  hand- 
somely dressed  buffalo  robe.  They  were  now  on  the  edge 
of  the  buffalo  country,  and  a  few  days'  march  toward  the 
north  would  have  brought  them  into  contact  with  vast  herds 
of  those  interesting  animals. 

Having  secured  the  friendship  of  the  Indians  in  the  vicin- 

193 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

ity  of  Ichiaha  by  a  course  of  just  and  generous  treatment, 
De  Soto  resumed  his  line  of  march  toward  the  west  and 
southwest.  He  had  been  told  of  a  very  rich  province  in  that 
direction,  called  by  the  Indians  Cosa,  which  he  now  made  his 
objective  point.  Crossing  over  into  the  present  limits  of 
Cherokee  County,  Alabama,  he  continued  his  course  toward 
the  southwest,  passing  through  a  very  fertile  and  populous 
region  for  a  period  of  twenty-four  days,  when  he  came  to 
the  Indian  town  of  Cosa,  the  capital  of  the  province  of 
that  name.  It  was  situated  on  a  noble  river,  supposed  to 
have  been  the  Coosa,  and  was  large  and  well  built,  contain- 
ing more  than  five  hundred  houses  and  a  population  of  per- 
haps five  thousand  people.  As  the  Spaniards  approached 
the  town  they  were  met  by  the  cacique,  a  handsome  young 
savage,  borne  on  a  litter,  and  accompanied  by  a  guard  of 
honor  of  about  a  thousand  warriors.  The  chief  and  his  ret- 
inue wore  rich  mantles  of  marten  skins  thrown  over  their 
shoulders,  tall  plumes  of  feathers  encircled  their  foreheads, 
and  the  whole  procession  was  preceded  by  a  band  of  music. 
The  chief  received  De  Soto  with  great  ceremony  and  every 
mark  of  sincere  respect,  assigning  him  a  part  of  his  own 
house  for  his  residence,  and  quartering  the  Spanish  troops 
among  his  people  in  the  town.  Every  attention  and  kind- 
ness was  shown  to  the  foreigners;  the  natives  appeared 
to  be  earnestly  desirous  of  establishing  the  most  friendly 
relations,  and  avoiding  every  incident  that  might  lead  to  a 
rupture.  Their  course  was  not  prompted  by  any  sense  of 

194 


DEFEAT  OF  BLACK  WARRIOR 

fear,  for  they  were  a  warlike  people;  the  cacique,  himself 
a  renowned  warrior,  commanded  an  army  of  several  thou- 
sand well  disciplined  and  well  armed  men,  whom  the 
Spaniards  would  have  found  much  difficulty  in  overcoming. 
The  inhabitants  of  this  province  were  farmers  as  well  as 
warriors,  and  had  the  most  extensive  and  best  cultivated 
fields  that  the  Spaniards  had  yet  seen;  but  as  with  all  the 
rest  of  the  tribes,  the  work  was  done  by  the  women.  The 
men  devoted  their  whole  time  to  the  chase,  to  war,  and  to 
affairs  of  state.  It  was  their  custom,  however,  to  employ 
their  prisoners  of  war  in  the  fields,  by  which  means  the  wo- 
men were  greatly  relieved,  and  were  able  to  cultivate  larger 
fields  than  they  might  otherwise  have  done. 

Owing  to  these  facts  the  Spaniards  found  it  possible  to 
procure  all  the  provisions  for  themselves  and  forage  for  their 
horses  that  they  needed,  and  De  Soto  spent  several  weeks 
at  Cosa  recuperating  his  well-worn  forces.  At  the  end  of 
that  time  he  again  set  out  on  his  southwestward  course,  ac- 
companied by  a  number  of  native  baggage-carriers  who  went 
in  that  capacity  at  the  command  of  their  cacique.  The  whole 
expedition  now  constituted  a  lengthy  caravan,  of  such  pro- 
portions and  strange  appearance  that  it  excited  the  wonder 
as  well  as  the  apprehension  of  the  inhabitants  through  whose 
country  it  passed.  Anticipating  this,  and  desiring  to  secure 
himself  against  assault,  De  Soto  required  the  cacique  to  go 
with  him  to  the  borders  of  his  dominions,  as  he  had  done 
in  the  case  of  the  queen  of  the  Cofachiquians.  It  was  a 

195 

13 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

treacherous  act,  but  probably  justified  as  a  means  of  security. 
The  savage  monarch  was  supplied  with  the  best  horse  be- 
longing to  the  expedition,  together  with  a  splendid  mantle 
for  himself  and  a  special  guard  of  honor.  The  latter  was 
the  cause  of  a  good  deal  of  apprehension,  as  well  as  resent- 
ment, on  the  part  of  himself  and  his  people,  for  they  realized 
that  he  was  a  prisoner  rather  than  a  guest;  and  several  acts 
were  committed  by  the  natives  indicating  a  hostile  purpose. 
De  Soto  caused  the  offenders  to  be  promptly  and  severely 
punished,  a  course  which  in  his  estimation  guaranteed  se- 
curity; but  it  was  well  for  the  safety  of  the  expedition  that 
it  was  soon  out  of  the  dominions  of  the  cacique  of  Cosa. 
On  reaching  the  borders  of  the  province,  however,  the  chief 
and  his  people  were  set  at  liberty,  with  many  marks  of  kind- 
ness and  appreciation,  which  had  the  effect  of  fully  restor- 
ing their  good-will  and  confidence.  They  accordingly  re- 
turned to  their  capital  loaded  with  presents  and  impressed 
with  the  belief  that  they  had  entertained  a  very  superior  race 
of  men. 

The  route  now  lay  through  the  present  counties  of  Eto- 
wah,  St.  Clair,  and  Jefferson,  Alabama,  in  the  direction  of 
Tuscaloosa ;  and  it  is  believed  that  the  expedition  passed  over 
or  near  the  present  sites  of  Gadsden  and  Birmingham.  The 
rich  iron  mines  of  that  region  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
governor,  but  his  mind  was  so  occupied  with  the  hope  of 
finding  gold  that  he  did  not  feel  justified  in  devoting  any 
time  to  the  examination  of  iron.  Yet  the  latter  has  produced 

196 


DEFEAT  OF  BLACK  WARRIOR 

more  actual  wealth  than  all  the  gold  mines  of  the  continent 
combined. 

The  travelers  had  now  entered  the  confines  of  a  province 
called  Tuscaluza,  governed  by  a  cacique  of  the  same  name, 
a  great  and  powerful  chief  whose  dominions  covered  a  large 
portion  of  the  present  territory  of  southern  Alabama  and 
Mississippi.  He  was  not  on  friendly  terms  with  the  cacique 
of  Cosa,  and  when  he  learned  that  the  latter  was  in  com- 
pany with  the  Spaniards,  together  with  a  large  number  of 
his  people,  he  became  apprehensive,  and  sent  his  son,  a  youth 
of  eighteen,  accompanied  by  a  splendid  retinue  of  officers,  on 
an  embassy  of  peace  to  the  commander  of  the  expedition. 
The  young  prince  met  De  Soto  at  the  borders  of  his  father's 
dominions,  and  presented  him  with  a  cordial  invitation  from 
the  monarch  himself  to  visit  his  capital,  which  lay  only  forty 
miles  distant.  The  governor  was  greatly  rejoiced  at  this 
mark  of  friendship  on  the  part  of  Tuscaluza,  for  he  dreaded 
his  power  more  than  that  of  any  other  chief  he  had  yet  en- 
countered. He  therefore  presented  the  young  prince  and 
the  members  of  the  embassy  with  numerous  presents,  and 
bade  them  tell  the  king  that  he  would  accept  his  invitation 
and  march  at  once  to  his  capital. 

When  he  came  within  six  miles  of  the  king's  residence, 
in  order  that  he  might  allay  all  apprehension  on  the  part 
of  the  monarch  and  his  people,  De  Soto  halted  his  army, 
and  accompanied  only  by  his  staff,  in  rich  attire,  he  rode 
forward  until  he  came  within  view  of  the  town.  There, 

197 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

posted  on  a  hill  which  overlooked  a  large  extent  of  rich  un- 
dulating valley  land,  he  found  Tuscaluza,  seated  on  a 
wooden  throne,  or  stool,  according  to  the  custom  of  the 
savage  monarchs  of  the  South,  surrounded  by  more  than 
one  hundred  of  his  chief  officers  decorated  with  plumes  and 
mantles  of  rich  furs.  Beside  the  king  stood  the  standard- 
bearer  of  the  empire,  carrying  on  the  end  of  a  spear  a  ban- 
ner about  the  size  of  a  shield,  composed  of  dressed  deer- 
skin of  a  yellow  color,  traversed  with  several  stripes  of  deep 
blue.  This  was  the  great  ensign  of  the  powerful  Emperor 
of  Tuscaluza,  the  insignia  of  his  rank  and  authority,  and 
the  only  military  standard  that  the  Spaniards  saw  during 
their  entire  journey. 

This  celebrated  chieftain,  who  bequeathed  his  name  to  a 
river  and  to  the  former  capital  of  the  State  of  Alabama, 
deserves  more  than  a  passing  notice.  According  to  the  de- 
scriptions of  the  Spaniards,  he  was  a  man  of  extraordinary 
stature,  being  nearly  seven  feet  in  height  and  well  propor- 
tioned. Although  extremely  dark  in  color,  so  dark  in  fact 
that  he  was  known  by  his  people  as  the  "  Black  Warrior," 
that  being  the  interpretation  of  his  name,  he  was  neverthe- 
less remarkably  handsome,  with  a  noble  front  and  a  fine  sol- 
dierly bearing.  He  was  in  appearance  every  inch  a  king. 
At  that  time  he  was  about  forty  years  of  age,  in  the  very 
prime  of  manhood,  with  a  countenance  which  though  hand- 
some, was  severe,  evincing  the  loftiness  and  ferocity  of  his 
spirit,  for  which  he  was  celebrated  not  only  in  his  own  do- 

198 


minions,  but  throughout  all  the  confederated  nations.  He 
was  broad  across  the  shoulders,  slender  and  well  formed  at 
the  waist,  and  his  limbs  were  so  perfectly  rounded  and  well 
poised  that  taken  altogether  the  Spaniards  regarded  him  as 
the  finest-looking  savage  they  had  ever  seen.  His  people 
were  a  tall,  good-looking  race;  but  the  king  arose  a  foot 
above  the  tallest  of  his  officers,  and  this  tremendous  height, 
together  with  his  waving  plumes,  made  him  appear  a  veri- 
table giant. 

As  De  Soto  approached,  preceded  by  the  members  of  his 
staff,  Tuscaluza  arose  and  advanced  twenty  paces  to  meet 
him,  not  even  deigning  to  cast  a  glance  toward  the  subor- 
dinates. His  greeting  was  extremely  cordial,  though  at 
the  same  time  dignified  and  courtly,  his  whole  manner  in- 
dicating that  he  appreciated  his  position  as  ruler  of  a  great 
nation.  He  assured  the  Spanish  leader  that  he  and  his  peo- 
ple should  be  regarded  as  his  guests,  so  long  as  they  re- 
mained in  his  country,  and  that  everything  they  needed 
would  be  bountifully  supplied  to  them.  They  were  accord- 
ingly lodged  in  the  best  houses  the  town  afforded,  De 
Soto  being  furnished  with  apartments  in  the  palace,  and  all 
their  wants  were  anticipated  and  promptly  supplied.  They 
could  not  have  been  better  treated  in  the  most  civilized  and 
polite  country  of  Europe;  but  De  Soto  chose  to  regard  all 
this  courtesy  as  a  cloak  to  hide  some  ulterior  purpose.  He 
feared,  or  pretended  to  fear,  treachery,  and  resolved  that 
when  he  moved  out  of  that  place  he  would  take  the  king  with 

199 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

him  as  a  hostage.  But  he  was  careful  not  to  let  any  sus- 
picion of  his  purpose  become  apparent  until  he  was  ready  to 
act 

This  place  is  supposed  to  have  been  on  or  near  the  site 
of  Birmingham,  Alabama,  all  the  incidents,  as  well  as  the 
descriptions  of  the  surrounding  country,  confirming  that  be- 
lief. It  was  a  very  populous  region  and  highly  cultivated, 
presenting  all  the  evidences  of  a  liberal  but  firmly  adminis- 
tered government.  Tuscaluza,  though  an  unlettered  savage, 
was  a  wise  ruler,  as  well  as  a  brave  and  distinguished  war- 
rior; and  it  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  we  are  not  better 
informed  regarding  his  personal  history. 

In  spite  of  the  kindness  and  hospitality  extended  to  him, 
De  Soto  was  so  suspicious  of  the  king's  good  intentions  that 
he  feared  to  remain  long  in  his  dominions,  and  therefore 
after  a  rest  of  not  more  than  three  or  four  days,  he  issued 
orders  for  his  men  to  resume  the  march.  In  doing  this  he 
was  very  careful  to  see  th^t  they  were  prepared  to  meet  any 
opposition  that  might  be  offered.  The  harquebuses  were 
loaded,  the  broadswords  freshly  ground,  and  the  single 
piece  of  artillery  double-shotted  and  primed.  It  is  evident 
that  this  old-fashioned  gun  had  on  several  previous  occasions 
been  the  means  of  their  salvation,  though  it  is  not  mentioned 
in  any  of  their  chronicles;  yet  they  could  hardly  have  over- 
come the  odds  that  had  been  thrown  against  them  in  sev- 
eral of  their  encounters  except  for  the  terrors  inspired  by  ' 
the  thundering  crash  of  the  diminutive  swivel.  De  Soto 

200 


DEFEAT  OF  BLACK  WARRIOR 

now  prepared  to  make  effective  use  of  the  gun,  if  the  need 
arose ;  and  it  was  accordingly  loaded  half-way  to  the  muzzle, 
and  primed  for  immediate  action. 

Having  completed  his  arrangements,  the  governor  noti- 
fied the  king  that  he  was  ready  to  depart,  but  that  he  would 
expect  him  to  accompany  the  expedition  throughout  the 
whole  extent  of  his  territory.  In  order  that  this  demand 
might  have  the  appearance  of  an  invitation  rather  than  a 
command,  he  presented  Tuscaluza  with  a  splendid  robe  of 
scarlet  cloth,  glittering  with  gold;  and  provided  him  also 
with  the  finest  horse  belonging  to  the  expedition.  By  this 
means  the  suspicions  of  the  chief  were  at  first  allayed,  and 
he  cheerfully  consented  to  accompany  his  guests.  Dressed 
in  his  scarlet  robe,  with  his  war-plumes  nodding  above  his 
head,  he  mounted  his  horse  and  set  out  with  De  Soto.  But 
he  was  so  tall  that,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  his  steed  was 
the  largest  in  the  company,  his  feet  came  almost  to  the 
ground;  and  riding  without  stirrups,  he  presented  no  very 
dignified  appearance.  His  people  observing  this,  imagined 
that  some  indignity  had  been  put  upon  their  ruler,  and  the 
cavalcade  set  out  with  ominous  forebodings  of  trouble. 

Their  route  still  lay  toward  the  southwest,  and  at  the  end 
of  three  days  they  came  to  a  large  town  bearing  the  same 
name  as  the  king,  and  still  known  in  our  day  as  Tuscaloosa. 
Here  it  was  apprehended  an  outbreak  might  occur,  but  it 
was  postponed  until  a  later  date  by  careful  management 
on  the  part  of  the  Spanish  commander;  nor  was  Tuscaluza 

20 1 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

ready  for  the  final  act.  In  the  course  of  a  few  days  they 
came  to  the  east  bank  of  the  Tombigbee  river,  and  followed 
it  to  its  junction  with  the  Alabama,  where  they  found  the 
most  important  and  strongly  fortified  town  of  the  con- 
federacy. It  was  called  in  the  Indian  tongue  Mauville,  and 
with  its  transition  into  English  has  given  name  to  one  of 
the  rivers  and  the  principal  seaport  city  of  the  State  of 
Alabama. 

During  the  whole  of  the  trip  Tuscaluza  had  been  detained 
a  prisoner  under  the  guise  of  friendship,  a  strong  guard  of 
Spanish  soldiers  being  constantly  in  his  presence  and  never 
losing  sight  of  his  person.  This  was  done  with  the  pre- 
tense of  showing  him  proper  respect  as  a  royal  personage, 
but  he  easily  penetrated  the  thin  deception,  and  burning 
with  indignation  resolved  on  a  sweeping  vengeance.  Care- 
fully dissembling  his  real  'motives,  he  had  sent  couriers  in 
advance  of  the  party,  under  the  pretense  of  collecting  sup- 
plies and  procuring  guides  for  his  white  friends;  but  these 
couriers  were  privately  instructed  to  sound  the  war  drums 
the  moment  of  their  arrival  in  Mauville,  and  to  send  swift 
runners  to  the  surrounding  towns  with  orders  for  all  the 
troops  to  assemble  in  the  fortifications  at  that  place,  and 
hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  protect  their  sovereign  and 
avenge  the  indignity  which  had  been  offered  to  his  person. 

De  Soto,  receiving  some  inkling  of  what  was  going  on, 
doubled  the  "  guard  of  honor  "  which  he  had  placed  over 
the  Indian  sovereign,  with  orders  to  kill  him  the  moment  any 

202 


DEFEAT  OF  BLACK   WARRIOR 

certain  indication  of  treachery  became  manifest.  But  he 
continued  his  march  without  halting,  and  in  due  course  of 
time  arrived  at  the  gates  of  Mauville.  This  town  was 
situated  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Alabama  river,  a  short 
distance  above  its  junction  with  the  Tombigbee.  It  was 
located  in  the  midst  of  a  considerable  plain,  on  a  slight 
eminence  which  afforded  a  view  of  the  whole  surrounding 
country,  and  in  a  bend  of  the  river  that  protected  two  sides 
of  the  place.  The  town  could  not  be  approached  from  the 
south  or  east  except  by  water,  while  the  other  two  sides 
were  guarded  by  a  strong  wall,  consisting  of  double  rows 
of  heavy  pickets,  firmly  fixed  in  the  ground,  bound  to- 
gether with  withes,  vines  and  reeds,  which  in  turn  were 
cemented  and  plastered  over  with  a  thick  coating  of  mud 
and  moss,  until  the  whole  was  absolutely  impervious  to 
arrows  and  darts.  Many  of  the  pickets  had  taken  root, 
and  put  forth  branches  and  thick  foliage,  which  afforded 
a  safe  screen  for  the  men  occupying  the  works.  Every 
fifty  yards  throughout  the  entire  circle  of  the  fortifications 
there  was  a  wooden  tower  capable  of  accommodating  five 
or  six  warriors,  with  port-holes  for  arrows  on  every  side 
and  at  each  angle.  There  were  but  two  gates,  one  on  the 
west  and  the  other  on  the  east,  the  latter  giving  access  to 
the  river. 

The  houses,  all  of  which  were  built  within  the  encircling 
palisades,  were  different  from  those  of  the  ordinary  Indian 
village,  and  were  evidently  intended  merely  as  shelters  for 

203 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

the  large  garrison  always  stationed  there.  They  were  mere 
sheds  of  reeds  and  cornstalks  set  on  posts,  and  generally 
open  on  all  sides;  though  some  which  were  occupied  by  the 
women,  had  walls  of  cornstalks  and  reeds.  There  were 
eighty  of  these  houses,  or  arbors,  all  of  an  extraordinary 
size,  some  of  them  large  enough  to  shelter  a  thousand  men. 
Such  was  the  ancient  Indian  town  of  Mauville,  where,  ac- 
cording to  all  accounts  and  the  best  information  that  can 
be  obtained,  was  fought  the  greatest  and  bloodiest  Indian 
battle  on  the  continent  of  America. 

About  four  weeks  had  been  consumed  by  the  Spaniards 
in  marching  leisurely  from  Tuscaluza  to  Mauville,  and  it 
afterwards  transpired  that  during  the  whole  of  this  time 
the  king  had  been  planning  the  destruction  of  his  enemies 
and  concentrating  his  forces  for  that  purpose. 

On  reaching  a  point  some  four  or  five  miles  distant  from 
the  town,  De  Soto  and  the  chief  rode  on  in  advance,  ac- 
companied by  about  one-half  of  the  cavalry  force  and  two 
hundred  spearmen  and  harquebusers.  The  little  cannon, 
being  a  clumsy  affair,  was  left  behind  with  the  rest  of  the 
army,  commanded  by  Luis  de  Moscoso,  to  whom  orders 
were  given  to  march  leisurely  so  as  not  to  weary  the  men. 
As  the  cavalcade  drew  near  the  west  gate,  a  grand  proces- 
sion of  warriors  issued  forth  into  the  plain,  painted  and 
splendidly  equipped,  and  preceded  by  a  band  of  young 
women  with  music,  songs  and  dances.  De  Soto  estimated 
that  there  were  several  thousand  of  the  warriors,  and  in 

204 


DEFEAT  OF  BLACK  WARRIOR 

spite  of  the  danger  which  he  knew  threatened  him  and  his 
men,  he  could  not  but  admire  their  splendid  proportions  and 
perfect  discipline.  It  was  as  fine  an  army  as  ever  assembled ; 
very  few  of  the  men  were  less  than  six  feet  in  height,  while 
the  forest  of  plumes  that  swayed  above  their  heads  as  they 
moved  with  regular  step,  apparently  added  several  inches 
more  to  their  stature.  Their  dark  bronze  bodies,  so  dark 
as  to  be  almost  black,  were  entirely  nude  except  for  their 
moccasins,  greaves  and  breech-cloths;  while  each  warrior 
carried  on  his  left  arm  a  strong,  heavy  shield,  like  those 
previously  described.  Their  arms  consisted  of  flint-pointed 
spears,  with  shafts  six  feet  in  length,  and  the  tremendous 
club-bows  already  mentioned,  which  were  in  themselves  not 
to  be  despised.  Omitting  the  harquebuses,  the  broadswords 
and  the  steel  armor  of  the  Europeans,  these  savages  of  the 
American  forest  were  as  well  armed  as  the  Spaniards  them- 
selves, and  the  latter  would  undoubtedly  have  met  defeat 
and  come  to  the  end  of  their  wanderings  at  this  place,  ex- 
cept for  the  terror  which  their  firearms  and  horses  inspired 
when  the  battle  opened. 

As  the  procession  drew  near  to  the  chief,  it  opened  out 
into  the  form  of  a  hollow  square,  surrounding  the  entire 
party,  the  young  girls  dancing  in  a  circle  around  their  king 
and  the  Spanish  commander;  and  thus  the  cavalcade 
was  conducted  within  the  walls  of  the  city,  through  the 
western  gate.  The  governor  and  the  cacique  entered  on 
horseback,  side  by  side;  but  when  the  people  saw  their  king 

205 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

in  that  strange,  and  to  them  ridiculous  situation,  the  shout- 
ing and  the  noise  ceased  and  a  silence  like  that  of  death 
fell  upon  the  whole  place.  Yet  they  received  their  sov- 
ereign with  every  mark  of  profound  respect,  and  soon  a  low 
murmur,  like  the  coming  of  a  distant  storm,  arose  from  all 
parts  of  the  town  as  the  inhabitants  became  fully  aware  of 
the  indignity  which  had  been  placed  upon  their  ruler. 

It  appears  that  Tuscaluza  was  in  doubt  about  the  policy 
of  attacking  the  Spaniards,  for  it  would  seem  that  if  he  had 
fully  made  up  his  mind  to  do  so  the  onslaught  would  have 
taken  place  outside  the  walls,  or  as  soon  as  the  party  had 
entered  the  gates,  and  before  they  could  prepare  for  it.  But 
the  king  had  been  so  closely  guarded  and  watched  during 
the  whole  of  the  march  that  he  had  no  opportunity  to  confer 
with  his  officers,  and  no  definite  plan  of  attack  had  been  ar- 
ranged. But  now  the  time  had  come,  and  the  plan  was 
quickly  consummated. 

As  soon  as  De  Soto  and  his  officers  had  been  assigned  to 
their  quarters,  Tuscaluza  excused  himself  and  withdrew, 
under  the  plea  of  conferring  with  his  people  and  arranging 
for  the  entertainment  of  so  large  a  number  of  visitors.  At 
this  stage  of  affairs  the  governor  dared  not  object,  lest  it 
might  precipitate  the  quarrel  which  he  realized  was  coming ; 
and  the  king  went  his  way.  He  did  not  return;  and  after 
waiting  an  hour  De  Soto  sent  a  messenger  to  invite  him  to 
breakfast,  as  it  had  been  their  custom  to  dine  together.  But 

the  chief  sent  word  that  he  was  busy  and  could  not  come. 

206 


DEFEAT  OF  BLACK   WARRIOR 

The  Spanish  guards  now  informed  the  governor  that  large 
bodies  of  warriors,  fully  armed  and  equipped,  were  con- 
cealed in  houses  in  distant  parts  of  the  town,  and  that  the 
women  had  retired  to  places  of  safety  still  more  remote. 
On  receipt  of  this  alarming  intelligence,  De  Soto  despatched 
a  messenger  to  Moscoso,  directing  him  to  hurry  forward 
the  remainder  of  the  army  with  the  utmost  speed,  and  to 
carefully  guard  against  surprise  on  the  way. 

At  length,  after  several  messengers  had  been  sent  with 
invitations,  and  afterwards  with  orders  for  the  king  to  ap- 
pear at  headquarters,  and  failing  to  gain  admission  to  his 
apartments,  one  of  them  called  out  from  the  door  in  loud 
and  peremptory  tones,  directing  him  to  obey  the  com- 
mands of  the  Spanish  leader.  This  was  resented  by  the 
officers  of  the  cacique's  guard,  and  weapons  were  drawn  on 
both  sides.  At  the  same  instant  the  roll  of  the  war-drums 
resounded  through  the  town,  accompanied  by  the  war-whoop 
of  the  Indian  general-in-chief ;  and  armed  savages  poured 
out  from  every  quarter  of  the  village.  On  the  plain  outside 
of  the  walls  another  army  arose  as  if  by  magic,  from  bur- 
rows in  the  earth  and  hollow  places  where  they  had  lain  in 
concealment.  The  whole  town,  as  well  as  the  surrounding 
plain,  was  instantly  alive  with  infuriated  warriors,  thirsting 
for  the  blood  of  the  insolent  foreigners. 

The  Spaniards  were  now  beset  on  every  hand,  and  hard 
pressed  from  every  quarter ;  arrows  flew  in  their  faces  from 
the  housetops,  and  from  every  place  of  cover,  until  it  was  no 

207 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

longer  possible  for  them  to  hold  their  ground.  Several  had 
fallen,  dead  or  wounded,  pierced  through  and  through  with 
shafts  from  the  tremendous  bows  of  the  savages. 

Seeing  that  he  could  not  maintain  his  position  in  the 
streets  of  the  town,  De  Soto  ordered  the  retreat  sounded, 
and  withdrew  his  men  to  the  open  plain,  where  the  cavalry 
could  act  and  the  infantrymen  were  not  exposed  to  slaughter 
from  secret  places.  As  the  men  moved  slowly  backward, 
contesting  the  space  foot  by  foot,  the  Indians  crowded  upon 
them,  driving  them  through  the  gates  by  simple  weight  of 
numbers;  but  at  length  the  movement  was  successfully  ac- 
complished and  the  little  army  drawn  up  in  a  solid  square 
on  the  plain,  with  lances  protruding  on  all  sides. 

When  the  Spaniards  were  out  of  the  city,  the  savages 
plundered  the  baggage,  and  striking  the  fetters  from  the 
limbs  of  the  slaves  who  l^ad  been  brought  from  Appalache, 
they  put  arms  in  their  hands  and  bade  them  assist  in  the 
destruction  of  their  enemies.  No  second  appeal  was  needed ; 
for  these  men,  burning  with  hatred  of  their  oppressors,  were 
found  always  in  the  front,  striking  the  heaviest  blows  in 
the  battle  that  ensued. 

Swarms  of  enraged  warriors  now  pressed  upon  the 
Spaniards  from  every  quarter,  discharging  their  flint-pointed 
arrows  with  deadly  execution.  Steel  armor  was  found  not 
to  be  impervious  to  these  missiles,  for  several  soldiers  were 
shot  through  the  body,  the  arrows  penetrating  both  their 
breast  and  backplates,  or  palettes.  Others  were  shot  in  the 

208 


DEFEAT  OF  BLACK  WARRIOR 

brain  through  openings  in  their  visors,  and  fell  dead  on  the 
field. 

Seeing  that  the  Indians  dreaded  the  horses  more  than  any 
other  part  of  his  forces,  De  Soto  ordered  the  cavalry  to 
charge.  Yielding  to  this  onslaught,  the  savages  fled  within 
the  cover  of  their  palisades;  but  as  soon  as  the  cavalry  re- 
tired, the  Indians  again  issued  forth  and  rushed  upon  the 
Spanish  formation.  This  style  of  fighting  was  kept  up  for 
some  time,  the  cavalry  alternately  charging  and  retreating 
from  the  plain  to  the  walls  of  the  enclosure;  until  at  length 
De  Soto  resolved  to  break  down  the  gates  and  lead  his 
cavaliers  into  the  heart  of  the  town.  This  movement  was 
quickly  accomplished.  The  gates  were  broken  and  cut  in 
pieces  with  axes,  and  the  horsemen,  with  a  portion  of  the  in- 
fantry, pushed  their  way  in.  A  desperate  combat  ensued  in 
the  streets  of  the  town,  the  Indians  shooting  their  arrows, 
as  they  had  done  before,  from  the  tops  of  the  houses  and 
every  place  of  shelter.  The  Spaniards  now  set  fire  to  the 
combustible  materials  of  which  the  houses  were  composed, 
and  almost  instantly  the  whole  place  burst  into  flame.  A 
thick  cloud  of  smoke  settled  down  into  the  narrow  streets, 
which,  together  with  the  stifling  heat,  suffocated  many  of 
the  combatants.  But  the  savages  were  driven  from  cover  and 
forced  to  fight  in  the  open,  where  they  were  at  the  mercy 
of  the  dreaded  cavalry.  Now  the  carnage  became  dreadful. 
The  inhabitantss,  without  regard  to  age  or  sex,  were  slaugh- 
tered by  hundreds,  and  trodden  under  foot  by  the  mail-clad 

209 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

horses.  Soon  the  wind  drove  the  flames  to  a  large  building 
in  a  remote  part  of  the  town,  where  more  than  a  thousand 
women  and  children  had  taken  refuge.  In  a  moment  they 
were  enveloped  on  all  sides  with  a  solid  sheet  of  fire,  from 
which  less  than  a  tenth  part  escaped. 

Infuriated  by  the  slaughter  of  their  friends  and  the  wild 
excitement  of  the  battle,  the  warriors  refused  to  give  or  ask 
quarter,  and  were  cut  down  in  heaps  by  the  keen  broad- 
swords of  the  Spaniards,  or  pierced  by  their  insatiable  lances. 
Thus  for  five  hours  the  contest  raged,  until  the  Spaniards 
were  almost  exhausted  by  the  simple  effort  of  killing.  So 
dreadful  was  the  slaughter  that  men  sickened  at  the  sight. 
It  seemed  for  a  while  that  the  Indians  would  become 
victors  by  weight  of  numbers,  but  at  the  very  moment 
when  the  white  men  were  about  to  sink  down  from  ex- 
haustion, the  remainder  of  the  army  was  brought  up  by 
Moscoso.  Fresh  troops  now  engaged  the  savages  on  every 
side,  wide  lanes  were  cut  through  their  ranks  by  the  cavalry, 
and  the  infantry  following  butchered  the  now  thoroughly 
terrified  Indians  with  their  lances  and  daggers.  A  new 
horror  also  came  into  play.  The  little  cannon  was  un- 
limbered  and  its  crashing  discharges  hurled  into  the  midst 
of  the  swaying  mass.  The  sound  of  the  gun  and  the  havoc 
it  wrought  had  much  to  do  in  saving  the  day  for  the  Span- 
iards. 

But  as  the  warriors  fled  in  terror,  the  women  set 
them  an  example  of  deathless  courage.  Rushing  from  their 

210 


DEFEAT  OF  BLACK   WARRIOR 

burning  houses,  with  their  long  black  hair  streaming  in 
the  wind,  their  breasts  bared  to  the  first  stroke  that  might 
be  leveled  at  them,  they  threw  themselves  like  furies  against 
the  spears  and  the  keen  blades  of  the  Spanish  broadswords. 
Not  until  the  curtain  of  night  hid  the  horrid  scene  did  the 
carnage  cease. 

"  Such,"  says  the  younger  Irving,  "  was  the  deadly  battle 
of  Mauville,  one  of  the  most  sanguinary,  considering  the 
number  of  combatants,  that  had  occurred  among  the  dis- 
coverers of  the  New  World.  Forty-two  Spaniards  fell  dead 
in  the  conflict ;  eighteen  of  them  received  their  fatal  wounds 
either  in  the  eyes  or  in  the  mouth;  for  the  Indians,  finding 
their  bodies  cased  in  armor,  aimed  at  their  faces.  Scarce 
one  of  the  Spaniards  but  was  more  or  less  wounded,  some 
of  them  in  many  places.  Thirteen  of  the  wounded  died  be- 
fore their  hurts  could  be  dressed,  and  twenty-two  after- 
ward, so  that  in  all  eighty-two  Spaniards  were  slain.  To 
this  loss  must  be  added  that  of  forty-two  horses,  killed  by 
the  Indians,  and  mourned  as  if  they  had  been  so  many  fel- 
low-soldiers." 

The  havoc  among  the  Indians  was  almost  incredible. 
Stretched  upon  the  plain  twenty-five  hundred  of  their  war- 
riors lay  dead,  besides  other  thousands  who  had  fallen  in 
the  streets  of  the  town  or  been  consumed  in  the  flames  of 
their  houses.  We  have  no  means  of  knowing  what  their 
losses  were,  except  by  the  reports  of  the  Spaniards  them- 
selves; but  the  circumstances  indicate  that  the  Spanish  re- 

211 


13 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

port  was  measurably  true.  One  of  their  writers  asserts 
that  more  than  eleven  thousand  savages  were  slain  in  the 
battle  or  burnt  in  the  conflagration.  The  Indians  had  re- 
solved to  drive  the  invaders  from  their  country  or  perish  in 
the  effort;  while  the  Spaniards  knew  that  their  lives  de- 
pended on  the  result.  Hence  each  fought  with  a  des- 
peration unequaled  in  the  annals  of  bloodshed;  and  we  may 
well  believe  that  the  slaughter  of  the  savages  had  few 
parallels. 

In  this  battle,  as  already  stated,  the  Indians  used  the  great 
bows  described  in  a  previous  page,  and  in  several  instances 
when  hard-pressed  they  employed  them  with  such  effect  on 
the  heads  of  their  enemies  as  to  make  the  blood  flow  from 
beneath  their  casques.  The  arrows  were  driven  with  a 
force  that  can  hardly  be^  credited,  for  they  not  only  passed 
through  the  persons  and  the  armor  of  a  number  of  the 
Spanish  soldiers,  but  they  even  pierced  armored  horses  to 
the  heart,  and  in  several  instances  passed  entirely  through 
their  bodies. 

The  flower  of  Tuscaluza's  army  had  been  concentrated  at 
this  place,  detachments  having  been  ordered  thither  by  swift 
runners  from  various  portions  of  southern  Alabama  and 
Mississippi,  as  well  as  from  Florida.  All  the  confederated 
tribes  supplied  their  quotas  at  the  call  of  the  great  "  Black 
Warrior,"  in  a  final  and  desperate  effort  to  expel  the  hated 
foreigners  from  the  land  they  loved  so  well.  This  explains 
the  presence  of  so  many  warriors  on  that  occasion,  and  the 

212 


DEFEAT  OF  BLACK  WARRIOR 

determined  spirit  with  which  they  fought.  It  was  the  most 
momentous  occasion  in  the  annals  of  that  people,  and  we 
may  study  the  pages  of  history  in  vain  for  a  nobler  self- 
sacrifice  in  the  cause  of  patriotism.  But  the  result  broke 
the  power  of  the  confederacy  so  completely  that  when  other 
Europeans  came  a  century  and  a  half  later,  its  renown  was 
a  mere  legendary  memory  of  the  past.  To  their  enemies 
themselves  were  the  Indians  indebted  for  the  records  which 
have  preserved  the  history  of  their  grandeur.  With  all  his 
shortcomings,  De  Soto  was  not  an  ungenerous  fighter;  and 
with  a  true  meed  of  justice  he  recounts  the  power  and  the 
nobleness  of  these  bronzed  Southrons,  as  well  as  the  splen- 
dor of  their  courage. 

The  condition  of  the  victors  after  the  battle  was  almost 
as  lamentable  as  that  of  the  vanquished.  Scarcely  one  of 
the  survivors  had  escaped  without  a  wound,  more  or  less 
severe,  so  that  there  were  hardly  enough  of  the  well  to  take 
care  of  the  desperately  hurt.  As  darkness  settled  down 
over  the  dreary  scene,  the  cold,  damp  Gulf  breeze  pene- 
trated even  to  the  marrow  of  the  wounded  men  lying  on  the 
ground,  until  their  sufferings  from  that  source  became  as 
great  as  the  pain  of  their  hurts.  The  houses  had  all  been  de- 
stroyed, not  a  shed  was  left  standing  to  afford  its  mean  shel- 
ter in  this  time  of  sore  need;  but  with  untiring  effort  De 
Soto  encouraged  those  who  were  able  to  remain  on  their 
feet,  until  fragments  of  burnt  dwellings  were  propped  against 
the  inner  side  of  the  palisades  and  temporary  shelters 

213 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

provided.  Although  the  governor  himself  was  wounded 
severely  in  the  thigh,  and  had  been  foremost  in  every 
charge  and  melee  of  the  day,  he  now  set  an  example  to  the 
men  in  his  efforts  to  care  for  the  wounded;  and  throughout 
that  terrible  night  he  worked  with  the  determination 
of  a  hero  and  the  ardor  of  a  patriot.  By  midnight  rough 
sheds  had  been  erected  and  beds  of  straw  made  down  for 
the  wounded,  when  quiet  reigned  in  the  camp  broken  only 
by  the  groans  of  the  suffering  and  the  death-gurgle  of  the 
dying.  The  streets  were  so  blocked  by  the  corpses  of  the 
Indians  as  to  be  almost  impassable,  but  these  elicited  no  sign 
of  compassion  from  the  stern-featured  Spaniards.  Among 
the  dead  of  the  natives  were  more  than  a  thousand  women 
and  children,  victims  of  the  greed  of  a  foreign  foe;  but  so 
intense  was  the  fanaticism  of  the  age  that  the  men  from 
Spain  regarded  them  merely  as  carcasses  of  so  many  insen- 
sate and  soulless  animals,  and  no  tear  of  pity  fell  upon  any 
little  cold  face  as  it  stared  blankly  into  the  abyss.  But  above 
that  wretched  scene,  let  us  believe,  the  face  of  a  Father  looked 
down  in  mercy  on  his  children  that  were  red  as  well  as  those 
that  were  white,  and  that  when  the  little  ones  saw  with  the 
eyes  of  the  soul  they  wondered  at  the  marvelous  beauty  and 
glory  of  the  happy  hunting  grounds. 

For  eight  days  the  Spaniards  were  compelled  to  remain 
in  this  place,  surrounded  by  the  festering  and  decaying 
bodies  of  friend  and  foe,  for  the  task  of  burying  so  many 
was  beyond  their  strength.  Meanwhile  small  detachments 

214 


DEFEAT  OF  BLACK  WARRIOR 

of  cavalry  were  sent  out  to  forage  for  food  among  the  ad- 
jacent villages,  where  they  found  many  dead  and  wounded 
Indians  who  had  dragged  themselves  to  this  distance  from 
the  field  of  carnage  to  suffer  and  die.  The  power  as  well 
as  the  spirit  of  the  natives  was  so  completely  broken  that 
not  the  least  show  of  resistance  was  made,  and  the  Span- 
iards went  at  will  wherever  they  chose  all  over  the  sur- 
rounding country.  We  are  not  told  what  was  the  fate  of 
the  king,  the  great  Black  Warrior,  whose  name  is  honored 
in  the  legends  of  our  country's  history  and  perpetuated  in 
the  title  of  a  river  that  waters  a  portion  of  his  kingdom; 
but  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  he  fell  in  the  battle, 
and  died  in  a  manner  most  pleasing  to  the  rude  grandeur 
of  his  soul. 

This  battle  was  fought  on  the  i8th  of  October,  1540;  and 
if  the  killing  of  men  deserves  a  record  in  the  annals  of  any 
people,  or  the  supreme  efforts  of  patriotism  are  worthy  of 
being  embalmed  in  the  history  of  mankind,  then  the  date 
and  the  record  of  this  great  combat  ought  to  be  remembered 
throughout  all  time. 


315 


DIVISION  X. 
De  Soto's  Disaster  in  the  Chickasaw  Country. 


WHILE  his  army  lay  at  Mauville,  recovering  from  its 
dreadful  punishment,  De  Soto  received  intelligence  through 
the  activity  of  his  scouts  and  information  brought  by  friendly 
Indians,  that  the  expected  ships  from  Cuba,  with  fresh  sup- 
plies and  reenforcements,  had  arrived  at  the  Bay  of  Achusi, 
or  Pensacola,  and  were  now  lying  there,  at  a  distance  of 
only  seven  days'  march.  This  news  would  have  been  hailed 
with  delight  by  most  men  situated  as  he  was,  but  it  came 
as  a  new  source  of  irritation  to  the  proud  spirit  of  this  re- 
markable adventurer.  He  feared  that  if  his  men  heard  of 
the  proximity  of  the  fleet  they  would  become  unmanageable, 
or,  spurred  on  by  the  recollection  of  the  hardships  they  had 
endured,  endeavor  to  make  their  way  back  to  Spain  or  some 
Spanish  port  in  Mexico.  On  referring  the  subject  to  some 
of  his  trusted  officers,  they  took  the  same  view  that  he  did, 
and  all  united  in  declaring  that  they  would  rather  die  in  the 
wilderness  than  suffer  the  shame  of  returning  to  their 
friends,  disappointed  in  their  expectations  and  ruined  in 
fortune.  It  was  therefore  resolved  to  keep  the  news  from 
the  men,  and  as  soon  as  they  were  able  to  march,  strike  out 

216 


. 

TiJTTLE  BETWEEN  T>ESOTO  AND  CHIEh 

'HE  battle  of  Mauville,  fought  near  the  present  site  of  Birmingham,  Alabama, 
was  the  most  savage  in  which  DeSoto  was  engaged  during  all  the  time  he 
was  in  America.  The  Spaniards  lost  eighty-two  of  their  number,  and  forty-two 
horses,  while  the  number  of  Indians  killed  was  supposed  to  exceed  eleven  thousand, 
a  large  proportion  of  whom  were  women  and  children,  while  every  house  in  the 
Indian  city  was  destroyed.  Though  DeSoto  obtained  a  victory  his  loss  equalled 
nearly  one-fourth  of  his  entire  force,  and  there  were  less  than  a  dozen  of  the  sur- 
vivors who  were  not  more  or  Ies»  wounded. 


i  itry. 


vA'Mv  / 

tlA  jHBiIyninniH  io  «»i*  ma^i'j  -j.-il  -iBt*!: 
9d  Diriii  3rd  He  gnnuh  b9aB^n9  tew  oto8aCI  riairiw  m 
o-«i--/r;oi  bnE-.iadfiiun  lisrit  ^o  owj-'ttrfaia  )«ol  abffiin:.- 
.hnK^uorit  nsvals  I)i3ix3OJb9«oqque  «BW  ballli  K^ 
li  3-iuorl  {ii'/a  slirlw  .naiblirb  bnc  namo-/.' 
b^liBnp^  eaol  airl  vioJoiv  E  bsnicldo  otc^^Q  dguorfT 
ii^  »Hl  io  im-ob  c  nsril  ml  »MW  siaiJl  has  ,»3ioJ  r 

3l  10  n< 


to  their 


DE  SOTO'S  DISASTER  IN  THE  CHICK  AS  AW  COUNTRY 

in  a  northern  direction  and  trust  to  fortune  for  a  better 
fate  than  any  that  had  yet  attended  them. 

Not  only  had  the  force  suffered  heavily  by  losses  in  battle, 
but  for  several  weeks  before  their  arrival  at  Mauville  a  ma- 
lignant disease  had  prevailed  among  the  men,  and  a  number 
had  fallen  victims  to  its  ravages.  The  nature  of  the  scourge 
is  not  known,  but  it  was  probably  one  of  those  deadly  fevers 
that  visited  the  South  so  frequently  during  the  early  history 
of  that  section.  There  are  intimations,  also,  that  the  Span- 
iards scattered  the  seeds  of  this  malady  among  the  natives 
as  they  wandered  from  town  to  town,  so  that  as  they  swept 
over  the  country  they  left  a  curse  in  their  trail,  besides  car- 
rying death  and  destruction  with  them  wherever  they  went. 
They  were  now  so  weakened  by  sickness  and  wounds  that 
the  camp  was  but  little  better  than  a  moving  hospital,  and 
as  De  Soto  contemplated  his  bitter  disappointments  and  the 
wretched  plight  of  his  soldiers,  he  became  morose,  irritable, 
and  discontented;  he  seemed  to  resolve  on  ending  his  exist- 
ence in  the  solitudes  of  the  wilderness,  far  away  from  the 
happy  memories  of  the  past.  Hope  at  least  lay  in  the  con- 
tinuance of  his  efforts,  while  the  shame  of  failure  and  de- 
feat must  inevitably  follow  him  home.  Many  other  men 
have  preferred  death  to  life  under  similar  conditions,  and 
De  Soto  did  not  shrink  from  the  alternative  that  fate  held 
out  to  him. 

Accordingly,  on  the  eighth  day  after  the  battle,  as  soon  as 
the  wounded  were  able  to  be  moved,  he  changed  his  camp 

219 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

from  the  fetid  and  festering  air  of  the  desolated  town  and 
established  it  on  the  bank  of  the  river  some  distance  above. 
Here  the  pure  water  and  the  bracing  air  of  our  American 
autumn  soon  produced  a  decided  improvement  in  the  con- 
dition of  his  followers,  and  by  the  latter  part  of  November 
they  were  again  able  to  resume  the  march. 

The  governor  now  issued  orders,  stern  and  curt,  directing 
every  one  to  be  in  readiness;  and  before  the  beginning  of 
December,  1540,  they  were  moving  northward  once  more 
in  search  of  the  golden  phantasm  which  had  led  them  into 
so  many  trials  and  disappointments. 

After  five  days  they  came  to  "  a  deep  and  wide  river," 
which  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  Tombigbee,  a  short  dis- 
tance below  the  junction  of  the  Black  Warrior,  and  near  the 
northern  line  of  Marengo  County,  Alabama.  It  may  be  in- 
ferred that  the  town  of  Demopolis  is  not  far  from  the  spot 
where  this  crossing  was  effected;  though  others  believe  it 
was  some  distance  below,  near  the  mouth  of  Chickasaw 
creek.  The  passage  was  disputed  by  a  large  body  of  Indians 
on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river,  who  proved  to  be  mem- 
bers of  the  famous  Chickasaw  tribe.  They  were  beyond  the 
limits  of  Tuscaluza's  confederacy,  but  they  had  heard  of  the 
Spaniards  and  the  desolation  that  followed  in  their  wake, 
and  they  had  no  desire  to  receive  such  unwelcome  guests. 
Their  opposition  delayed  the  crossing  for  twelve  days,  until 
boats  could  be  built  large  enough  to  ferry  the  cavalry  over, 
when  the  hostile  bands  were  soon  dispersed. 

220 


DE  SOTO'S  DISASTER  IN  THE  CHICK  A  SAW  COUNTRY 

Every  tribe  of  Indians  had  some  special  and  peculiar  fea- 
ture connected  with  its  early  history,  and  the  Choctaws  were 
no  exception  to  this  rule.  They  claimed  to  have  come  from 
some  distant  country  west  of  the  Mississippi,  at  a  very  early 
date,  in  company  with  the  Creeks  and  Choctaws.  When 
about  to  start  eastward  on  their  journey,  the  Great  Spirit 
provided  them  with  a  pole  as  a  guide,  and  a  very  large  and 
fierce  dog  to  protect  them  against  all  enemies.  On  camping 
at  night  they  planted  the  pole  in  the  earth,  and  in  the  morn- 
ing they  looked  at  it  and  directed  their  course  according  to 
the  way  it  was  leaning.  In  crossing  the  Mississippi  their 
guardian  dog  was  drowned,  but  they  continued  to  follow  the 
indications  of  their  guide-pole  until  they  came  to  another 
large  river,  supposably  the  Alabama,  where,  after  the  pole 
had  remained  unsettled  for  several  days,  it  finally  pointed 
toward  the  southwest.  They  then  proceeded  in  that  direc- 
tion until  they  came  to  what  is  known  as  the  "  Chickasaw 
Old  Fields,"  where  the  pole  became  rigidly  upright.  Ac- 
cepting this  as  an  indication  that  they  had  reached  their 
promised  land,  they  remained  there  and  built  a  village, 
whence  their  tribe  branched  out  and  prospered,  until  when 
De  Soto  came  he  found  a  nation  with  an  army  of  ten  thou- 
sand warriors,  and  four  large  contiguous  settlements.  They 
had  also  become  separated  into  five  clans,  or  families,  com- 
posing a  large  confederacy,  that  extended  over  the  northern 
half  of  Mississippi  and  western  Tennessee,  and  was  gov- 
erned by  a  king,  or  "  Mico,"  as  head  of  the  nation.  The 

221 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

legend  of  the  Chickasaws  has  some  of  the  elements  of  a  di- 
luted edition  of  the  flight  of  the  Israelites  from  Egypt  to  the 
land  of  Canaan,  and  it  points  faintly  to  a  common  origin  of 
the  races  of  mankind.  But  we  will  leave  the  study  of  these 
abstruse  subjects  to  those  who  are  more  deeply  interested 
in  that  branch  of  knowledge,  and  follow  the  hero  of  our 
narrative  in  his  experiences  with  these  entertaining  people. 
Crossing  out  of  the  territory  of  Alabama  into  that  of  Mis- 
sissippi, somewhere  within  the  limits  of  the  present  county 
of  Lauderdale,  De  Soto  pursued  a  course  a  little  north  of 
west,  until  he  came  probably  near  the  site  of  Carthage  in 
Leake  County,  when  he  turned  almost  due  north.  After 
eight  or  ten  days'  march  in  that  direction  he  arrived  at  the 
village  of  Chicasa,  in  the  present  territory  of  Yalobusha. 
This  place  was  composed  of  about  two  hundred  small  houses 
or  wigwams,  very  inferior  and  different  in  construction 
from  those  further  South ;  but  it  was  now  late  in  December, 
and  the  governor  decided  to  winter  there.  The  natives  had 
all  fled  on  the  approach  of  the  army,  though  they  left  abund- 
ant supplies  of  corn  and  provisions,  much  of  the  former  still 
standing  in  the  fields.  As  the  houses  were  too  small  to  ac- 
commodate the  entire  company,  the  Spaniards  now  set  to 
work  and  constructed  a  number  of  others,  and  also  fortified 
the  place  as  a  precaution  against  any  assaults  the  natives 
might  be  disposed  to  make  upon  them.  They  believed  this 
to  be  the  principal  town  of  the  Chickasaw  confederacy,  and 
naturally  expected  their  occupancy  to  be  disputed. 

222 


DE  SOTO'S  DISASTER  IN   THE  CHICKASAW  COUNTRY 

The  weather  by  this  time  was  very  cold ;  the  ground  and 
the  streams  were  frozen,  and  the  snow  lay  like  a  thick  mantle 
of  white  all  over  the  landscape.  The  men,  being  accustomed 
to  a  warm  climate,  suffered  intensely  on  account  of  the  sever- 
ity of  the  season;  but  they  made  themselves  as  comfortable  as 
possible  with  their  own  resources  and  the  furs  which  they 
found  in  the  native  houses. 

At  first  the  Indians  manifested  a  disposition  to  be  friendly, 
and  could  no  doubt  have  been  won  over  completely  if  the 
Spaniards  had  treated  them  fairly;  but  they  were  imposed 
upon  in  many  ways,  and  at  length  driven  to  open  hostility. 
None  of  their  rights  were  respected  by  the  invaders,  but 
foraging  parties  that  visited  the  neighboring  villages  from 
time  to  time  appropriated  whatever  they  chose  to  lay  their 
hands  on,  and  in  many  instances  burnt  the  houses  of  the 
natives  as  well.  They  also  carried  a  number  of  the  strong- 
est men  by  force  to  the  camp,  and  compelled  them  to  take 
the  place  of  the  slaves  they  had  lost  at  Mauville.  The  In- 
dians, observing  that  it  was  the  custom  of  the  Spaniards  to 
take  whatever  they  wanted,  fell  into  the  same  habit  when 
they  visited  the  camp;  and  several  who  were  thus  caught 
stealing  were  shot  to  death.  This  was  a  case  in  which  it 
made  a  great  difference  whose  ox  was  gored.  At  length 
De  Soto  personally  gave  orders  that  several  Indians  who  had 
been  detected  appropriating  small  articles  about  the  camp 
should  have  their  hands  cut  off,  and  in  that  mutilated  state 
they  were  sent  to  their  people  as  a  warning  to  others. 

223 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

This  intolerable  cruelty  exhausted  the  forbearance  of  the 
savages,  who  resolved  to  destroy  the  invaders  or  perish  in 
the  attempt.  They  now  ceased  their  visits  to  the  camp,  and 
in  order  to  throw  the  Spaniards  off  their  guard,  as  well  as 
to  break  their  rest,  they  made  feigned  attacks  almost  every 
night  on  the  pickets  and  outer  works,  accompanying  these 
demonstrations  with  frightful  yells  and  other  savage  noises. 
At  length,  near  the  end  of  February,  1541,  the  great  assault 
for  which  they  had  been  planning  was  made,  and  it  came 
very  near  proving  fatal  to  the  Spaniards. 

At  the  darkest  hour  of  the  night,  just  before  the  begin- 
ning of  the  dawn,  the  savages  stole  past  the  pickets  and 
gained  the  enclosure  of  the  fortifications  without  being  dis- 
covered. Then,  while  the  Spaniards  were  still  sleeping  in 
supposed  security,  they  raised  a  din  of  frightful  yells  and 
war-whoops,  accompanied  by  the  blowing  of  conch-shells 
and  horns,  and  instantly  began  their  work  of  murder  by  slay- 
ing every  white  man  who  came  within  their  reach.  Bovy- 
men  who  had  been  detailed  for  the  purpose  shot  blazing 
shafts  into  the  flimsy  roofs  and  walls  of  the  houses,  which 
burst  into  flames,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  minutes  a 
general  conflagration  enveloped  the  whole  town. 

The  Spaniards,  aroused  from  their  slumbers  by  the  hor- 
rid noises,  and  confused  and  bewildered  by  the  flames  and 
the  turmoil,  rushed  into  the  streets  without  clothing  or 
armor,  in  their  efforts  to  escape  from  the  burning  buildings. 
In  this  moment  of  terrible  confusion  a  number  were  killed 

224 


DE  SOTO'S  DISASTER  IN  THE  CHICKASAW  COUNTRY 

and  others  wounded;  but  their  habits  of  discipline  and  ex- 
perience as  veterans,  soon  restored  order,  and  buckling  on 
their  armor  they  began  to  make  headway  against  the  sav- 
ages. At  the  first  onset  many  of  the  horses  took  fright  and 
escaped  to  the  plain,  while  others  could  not  be  released  from 
the  burning  stables  where  they  were  haltered.  This  was  the 
most  trying  experience  that  the  Spaniards  had  been  required 
to  undergo,  for  in  their  battles  with  the  Indians  they  had 
learned  to  depend  in  a  very  large  measure  on  the  cavalry. 
But  after  a  little  they  succeeded  in  recovering  and  harness- 
ing about  one-half  of  the  horses,  when  they  began  a  series 
of  desperate  and  successful  charges  into  the  dense  masses 
of  the  savages,  whose  bronzed  figures  were  illuminated  by 
the  blazing  houses.  The  little  cannon  was  likewise  brought 
into  service,  and  after  its  first  resounding  crash  the  Indians 
began  to  fall  back.  The  battle  had  now  covered  the  space 
of  several  hours,  and  it  was  broad  daylight  before  the  last 
of  the  savages  disappeared. 

Then  the  Spaniards  found  themselves  in  a  most  pitiable 
condition.  Forty  men  lay  dead  on  the  ground,  while  the 
charred  forms  of  others  in  the  midst  of  the  ruins  of  their 
houses  showed  that  they  had  met  death  by  fire.  Many  others 
were  desperately  wounded ;  and  the  whole  company  had  suf- 
fered in  loss  of  arms,  either  burnt  in  the  flames  or  untem- 
pered  by  the  heat.  In  addition  to  this,  fifty  of  the  horses 
had  been  killed  or  burnt  to  death  in  the  sheds,  a  loss  which 
could  not  by  any  means  be  replaced  or  mended.  Most  of 

225 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

the  baggage  had  likewise  been  destroyed,  so  that  the  men 
were  now  shivering  in  the  bitter  cold,  half-clothed  and  with 
no  means  of  procuring  additional  covering.  All  the  houses 
had  been  consumed;  there  was  not  a  roof  of  any  kind  to 
shelter  the  wounded  or  to  protect  the  men  from  the  unre- 
lenting cold.  Still  another  calamity  of  a  peculiar  nature 
had  befallen  them.  Throughout  all  their  wanderings  they 
had  carried  their  drove  of  swine  with  them,  to  supply  food 
in  emergencies;  and  so  prolific  were  these  animals  that 
in  spite  of  all  their  hardships  and  the  contributions  which 
they  had  made  in  bacon  to  the  common  cause,  they  had  con- 
stantly increased  in  number.  But  most  of  them  had 
fallen  victims  to  the  present  calamity.  Housed  within  a 
shed  which  had  been  prepared  for  their  comfort,  they  were 
overtaken  in  the  midst  „  of  their  slumbers  by  the  flames 
that  wrecked  all  the  buildings,  and  at  the  end  of  the  tur- 
moil not  more  than  a  fourth  part  of  them  could  be  col- 
lected into  the  herd.  All  the  rest  were  charred  and  black- 
ened carcasses  beneath  the  ruins  of  their  shed.  The  num- 
ber that  perished  exceeded  four  hundred. 

The  condition  of  the  Spaniards  was  now  the  most  lament- 
able of  which  we  have  any  account  in  the  pages  of  history; 
and  their  fortitude  in  overcoming  the  horrors  by  which  they 
were  beset  excites  the  involuntary  admiration  of  mankind. 
On  this  as  well  as  other  occasions  of  trial  and  calamity  they 
proved  themselves  men  of  iron  will;  but  the  credit  of 
their  salvation  was  due  mainly  to  the  masterful  leadership 

226 


DE  SOTO'S  DISASTER  IN   THE  CHICKASAW  COUNTRY 

of  De  Soto.  No  calamity  could  break  his  spirit,  and  no 
emergency  was  so  great  as  to  confuse  his  judgment.  He 
was  a  born  leader  of  men,  who  in  spite  of  the  moral  defi- 
ciencies of  his  character,  due  fo  the  false  teachings  of  his  age, 
deserves  a  high  place  among  the  world's  most  famous 
adventurers. 

As  soon  as  the  Spaniards  were  able  to  move,  they 
abandoned  the  desolation  of  their  late  camp,  and  sought  the 
meager  comforts  of  an  Indian  village  about  three  miles  dis- 
tant. Here  they  at  least  had  roofs  to  cover  them,  and  walls 
to  shut  out  the  blasts  of  winter ;  and  with  extraordinary  per- 
severance and  industry  they  soon  enclosed  the  place  with 
a  line  of  palisades  as  a  protection  against  the  continued  at- 
tacks of  the  savages.  Here  they  remained  until  the  last  of 
March,  employed  meanwhile  in  making  new  saddles  and  re- 
pairing old  ones;  retempering  the  swords  which  had  been 
softened  by  the  heat  of  the  burning  houses;  replacing  the 
burnt  shafts  of  their  spears  with  stout  ashen  sticks  cut  from 
the  timber  of  the  locality,  and  making  new  shields  of  raw- 
hide. Nearly  the  whole  of  their  armament  had  to  be  re- 
placed or  repaired,  so  that  the  sound  of  the  forge  and  the 
hammer  was  heard  by  day  and  by  night  throughout  this 
period  of  their  trials.  They  were  also  obliged  to  keep 
a  vigilant  outlook  against  the  nocturnal  attacks  of  the  na- 
tives, who  allowed  them  neither  rest  nor  security.  Indeed 
they  had  by  this  time  reached  such  a  state  of  desperation 
that  they  seemed  to  care  but  little  whether  they  lived  or  died ; 

227 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

and  in  the  midst  of  all  their  sufferings  and  trials  they  light- 
ened their  burdens  with  games  of  chance  and  boisterous 
hilarity. 

About  the  first  of  April  they  broke  up  their  winter  quar- 
ters, and  once  more  resumed  their  wanderings  in  a  north- 
westward direction.  A  single  day's  march  brought  them  to 
a  strongly  fortified  town  called  Alibamo,  situated  on  the  east 
bank  of  a  river,  probably  the  Tallahatchie,  near  where  its 
junction  with  the  Yocona  forms  the  Yazoo.  The  State  and 
river  of  Alabama  are  said  to  have  taken  their  name  from 
this  Indian  town,  the  meaning  of  which  in  the  aboriginal 
tongue  is,  "  Here  we  rest."  It  was  a  very  important  place, 
and  protected  in  such  a  manner  as  to  give  it  even  greater 
strength  than  Tuscaluza's  celebrated  fortress  of  Mauville. 
The  banks  of  the  river  were  so  high  and  precipitous  that 
no  approach  could  be  made  from  that  side,  yet  it  was 
protected  like  all  the  other  approaches.  The  entire 
town  was  surrounded  by  a  triple  wall  of  pickets  and  earth, 
in  quadrangular  form,  each  side  being  about  one  hundred 
yards  in  length.  Within  the  main  enclosure  were  several 
intersecting  and  parallel  lines  of  palisades,  supported  by 
earth-works,  the  whole  composing  a  perfect  network  of  for- 
tifications of  the  most  admirable  character.  It  would  be 
impossible  for  cavalry  to  act  within  this  fort,  even  if  it  could 
gain  admission;  so  whatever  might  be  done  would  have  to 
be  accomplished  by  the  infantry  and  the  artillery. 

In  spite  of  the  impregnable  character  of  the  place,  and 

228 


DE  SOTO'S  DISASTER  IN   THE  CHICKASAW  COUNTRY 

the  overpowering  numbers  of  the  savages,  the  Spaniards 
waited  only  for  the  morning,  when  they  stormed  it  with  a 
fury  that  carried  all  opposition  before  them.  Within  a  few 
minutes  after  the  commencement  of  the  fight  they  had  scaled 
the  walls  and  possessed  themselves  of  the  fortifications, 
whereupon  the  garrison  was  indiscriminately  slaughtered. 
A  few  escaped  by  clambering  over  the  palisades,  but  these 
were  run  down  and  slain  by  the  cavalry,  which,  as  stated, 
was  compelled  by  the  conditions  to  remain  on  the  outside. 
Fifteen  Spaniards  were  killed  in  this  most  desperate  and 
daring  assault,  while  the  carnage  among  the  savages  was 
frightful  beyond  description.  Their  loss  was  greater  than 
in  any  of  the  battles  except  at  Mauville. 


229 
14 


DIVISION  XI. 
De  Soto  Discovers  the  Mississippi  River. 


AFTER  four  days  the  Spaniards  resumed  their  march  in 
a  westward  direction,  traveling  for  seven  days  through  an 
uninhabited  country  abounding  in  swamps  and  bayous, 
where  they  were  frequently  compelled  to  swim  their  horses 
and  cross  the  infantry  and  the  swivel  on  rafts.  They  were 
now  passing  through  a  wonderfully  rich  alluvial  district, 
such  as  borders  the  lower  Mississippi  on  one  side  or  the 
other,  and  frequently  on  both  sides,  throughout  its  entire 
length.  At  the  end  of  the  seventh  day  they  came  to  a  vil- 
lage called  Chisca,  "  seated  near  a  wide  river."  This  was 
the  Mississippi,  the  "  Father  of  Waters,"  the  "  Great  River  " 
of  the  French,  who  came  a  century  and  a  half  later ;  and  as 
it  was  the  mightiest  river  that  the  Spaniards  had  yet  seen, 
De  Soto  gave  it  the  name  of  the  Rio  Grande.  Never  be- 
fore had  the  eyes  of  white  men  beheld  this  vast  stream,  ex- 
cept in  the  case  of  Cabeza  de  Vaca  and  his  forlorn  cast- 
aways, when  they  sailed  across  its  turbid  mouth  where  it 
empties  into  the  Gulf.  De  Soto  may  therefore  justly  be 
credited  with  the  discovery  of  the  Mississippi,  for  no  other 

230 


DE  SOTO  DISCOVERS   THE  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER 

European  had  yet  seen  this  mighty  river  confined  within 
its  banks  above  the  sea. 

Much  contention  has  arisen  concerning  the  point  where 
the  Spaniards  first  came  to  the  river,  several  places  claiming 
the  honor;  and  indeed  it  is  a  matter  of  no  little  moment. 
If  we  follow  De  Soto's  description  of  the  country  that  he 
traveled  over  during  the  last  seven  days,  and  the  direction, 
almost  due  west  from  the  fort  on  the  Tallahatchie,  the  dis- 
covery must  have  been  in  the  vicinity  of  Friar  Point,  or  Is- 
land No.  Sixty-two,  in  Coahoma  County,  Miss.  A  glance 
at  the  map  will  show  that  this  route  bears  but  a  little  north 
of  west,  and  leads  across  bayous  and  swamps  nearly  the 
whole  distance.  Some  have  placed  the  point  of  discovery 
as  far  up  as  New  Madrid,  Mo.,  and  for  the  sake  of  State 
pride  we  would  be  glad  to  locate  it  there  if  the  facts  would 
permit.  Bancroft,  with  his  usual  infelicity,  thinks  the  dis- 
covery was  made  near  the  35th  parallel  of  latitude,  which  is 
a  short  distance  below  the  city  of  Memphis ;  but  in  order  to 
reach  that  point  De  Soto  would  have  been  required  to 
march  almost  due  north  from  the  fort  of  Alibamo,  through 
a  highland  country;  while  he  states  explicitly  that  he 
marched  westward,  over  a  low,  flat  and  swampy  country. 
Nearly  all  writers  since  Bancroft  have  followed  the  latter; 
but  we  might  as  well  locate  the  place  of  discovery  at  the 
North  Pole  as  at  the  35th  parallel  of  latitude,  for  there  is 
as  much  reason  in  favor  of  the  one  as  the  other. 

At  any  rate,  the  river  was  discovered,  and  the  Portuguese 

231 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

historian  describes  it  in  language  that  is  unmistakable :  "  At 
this  place  the  river  was  half  a  league  from  one  shore  to  the 
other,  so  that  a  man  standing  still  could  not  be  seen  from 
the  opposite  shore.  It  was  of  great  depth,  and  of  wonder- 
ful rapidity.  It  was  very  muddy,  and  was  always  filled  with 
floating  trees  and  timber,  carried  down  by  the  force  of  the 
current."  Such  was  the  Mississippi  as  the  Spaniards  first 
saw  it;  the  "  Miche  Sepe"  (Father  of  Waters)  of  the  red 
men;  and  such  it  still  remains,  and  ever  shall  remain,  loved 
and  feared  by  all  who  have  lived  on  its  banks  or  floated  upon 
its  majestic  bosom. 

At  the  time  of  the  discovery  "  the  river  was  low,  and  both 
banks  were  high,"  so  that  some  effort  was  required  in  de- 
scending to  its  murky  waters  and  climbing  again  to  the  top 
of  the  sandy  bank. 

De  Soto  felt  the  need  of  rest  for  his  men,  and  was 
disposed  to  remain  near  the  river  for  some  time;  but 
the  Indians  of  that  vicinity  had  evidently  been  informed 
as  to  the  character  of  the  strangers,  for  they  manifested  a 
decidedly  hostile  disposition.  Hence,  after  four  days  the 
camp  was  struck,  and  the  army  marched  northward  along 
the  eastern  bank  of  the  river,  until  they  found  "  an  open 
region,"  where  they  rested  again.  Owing  to  the  tangled 
nature  of  the  woodland,  they  traveled  only  twelve  leagues, 
or  thirty-six  miles,  during  the  four  days ;  so  that  their  place 
of  encampment  must  have  been  a  short  distance  above 
Helena,  Ark.,  and  not  far  from  that  great  curve  in  the  river 

232 


DE  SOTO  DISCOVERS   THE  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER 

called  Walnut  Bend.  Here  they  remained  twenty  days, 
building  boats,  of  sufficient  number  and  capacity  to  ferry  the 
army  and  the  horses  across  the  water. 

Over  on  the  other  side  of  the  river  lay  the  country  of  a 
famous  cacique  named  Aquixo,  who  governed  a  large  terri- 
tory inhabited  by  many  tribes  in  that  region.  After  a  few 
days  this  cacique  came  to  visit  the  strangers  with  a  great  fleet 
of  two  hundred  war-canoes,  filled  with  armed  men.  Each 
canoe  carried  as  many  as  twenty  warriors,  besides  the  oars- 
men and  the  chiefs;  so  that  the  fleet  contained  an  army  of 
more  than  two  thousand  men,  and  the  Spaniards  felt  no  little 
apprehension  as  they  observed  its  approach.  The  warriors 
were  armed  in  the  usual  manner,  with  bows  and  spears, 
while  on  their  heads  they  wore  flowing  plumes  of  many 
colors.  Each  warrior  carried  a  shield  on  his  left  arm,  and 
as  they  drew  near  the  shore  they  stood  up  and  protected  the 
rowers  with  their  shields.  The  cacique  and  his  chiefs  sat 
in  the  sterns  of  the  boats,  under  awnings  of  cloth  supported 
by  spears,  as  in  the  case  of  the  queen  of  the  Cofachiquians. 
"  The  canoes  were  most  neatly  made,  and  very  large,  and, 
with  their  pavilions,  feathers,  shields,  and  standards,  looked 
like  a  fleet  of  galleys."  Such  was  the  description  given  by 
one  who  saw  them. 

As  the  flotilla  approached  the  shore,  a  herald  announced 
by  words  and  signs  that  they  brought  peace  offerings  of 
fish,  fruit  and  bread,  and  had  come  to  welcome  the  strang- 
ers to.  their  country.  But  the  strangers  chose  to  believe 

233 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

that  their  purpose  was  hostile;  and  while  they  hesitated, 
waiting  for  a  reply  to  their  overture,  several  of  the  har- 
quebusers  fired  into  them,  killing  four  or  five  of  their 
number.  One  of  the  canoes  meanwhile  had  effected  a  land- 
ing, and  as  its  inmates  started  to  climb  up  the  bank  the 
.Spaniards  beat  them  back  with  the  shafts  of  their  spears. 
The  swivel  was  also  brought  up  to  the  edge  of  the  river 
and  leveled  at  the  fleet;  when  the  Indians,  seeing  the  war- 
like attitude  of  the  white  men,  and  terrified  by  the  deadly 
fire  and  smoke  of  the  harquebuses,  turned  their  canoes  and 
paddled  rapidly  back  to  the  opposite  shore.  This  was  the 
last  that  the  Spaniards  saw  of  the  magnificent  fleet  or  the 
army  of  the  great  cacique;  but  the  incident  was  not  for- 
gotten by  the  savages,  for  when  the  remnant  of  the  army 
returned  after  many  months  from  its  wanderings  in  the 
West,  it  was  attacked  and  punished  severely  by  these  same 
people. 

As  soon  as  the  boats  were  finished,  the  army  was  con- 
veyed across  the  river,  whereupon  the  vessels  were  broken 
up  for  the  sake  of  the  iron  and  nails  which  had  been  used 
in  their  construction.  The  wanderers  then  set  out  in  a 
northwestward  direction,  traveling  through  a  flat  country 
intersected  by  numerous  watercourses,  bayous  and  lakes, 
which  in  several  instances  were  not  fordable;  so  that  they 
were  compelled  to  be  constantly  building  rafts  and  boats  in 
order  to  pass  these  obstructions. 

After  five  days  of  such  laborious  progress,  they  came  to 

234 


DE  SOTO  DISCOVERS   THE  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER 

a  large  Indian  town,  occupied  by  a  tribe  called  Casqui,  or 
Casquin,  located  on  the  banks  of  a  stream  which  is  supposed 
to  have  been  the  White  river,  near  the  present  site  of  New- 
port, Arkansas.  Surrounding  the  town,  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach,  were  fields  of  corn  and  orchards  of  fruit-trees, 
interspersed  with  numerous  farmhouses,  where  the  people 
dwelt  in  peace  and  plenty.  The  town  itself  contained  a 
population  of  several  thousand  souls.  They  were  a  peace- 
able race  and  treated  the  strangers  with  great  courtesy  and 
hospitality.  The  Spaniards  remained  in  this  place  six  days, 
when  they  set  out  for  the  chief  town  of  the  cacique  who 
governed  the  country,  which  lay  on  the  same  side  of  the 
river  about  two  days'  journey  toward  the  west.  Their 
course  now  led  them  through  a  fine  rolling  country,  the  most 
beautiful  they  had  seen  since  leaving  the  highlands  of  the 
Tallahatchie,  and  well  populated  with  a  thrifty  and  very 
friendly  class  of  inhabitants. 

On  arriving  at  the  Cacique's  town,  the  explorers  were  re- 
ceived by  him  and  his  people  with  great  ceremony  and  kind- 
ness, and  invited  to  remain  as  long  as  they  chose.  They 
were  provided  with  food  and  lodging  for  themselves  and 
their  beasts,  and  urged  to  ask  for  whatever  they  needed. 

It  was  now  near  the  last  of  May,  when  an  incident  oc- 
curred which  showed  the  gentle  and  religious  disposition 
of  this  people.  The  weather  was  fine,  but  it  had  been  warm 
and  dry  for  some  time,  and  the  crops  were  beginning  to 
suffer  for  want  of  rain.  In  the  course  of  a  few  days  the 

235 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

cacique  and  his  principal  officers  came  in  a  body  to  make 
a  formal  call  on  De  Soto;  and  with  great  solemnity  de- 
sired him  to  pray  to  his  God  to  send  rain  on  their  parched 
fields,  as  they  had  petitioned  their  own  Great  Spirit  in  vain. 
The  governor  cheerfully  complied  with  their  request,  and 
instructed  his  carpenters  to  make  a  large  cross  for  the  oc- 
casion. By  the  end  of  two  days  the  emblem  had  been 
formed  out  of  a  pine  tree  fifty  feet  high,  and  raised  in  an 
open  space  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  where  all  the 
people  could  see  it,  but  at  the  same  time  not  profane  it  by 
drawing  too  near.  De  Soto  now  informed  the  cacique  that 
the  solemn  ceremony  would  be  performed  early  the  following 
morning,  and  requested  that  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  town, 
as  well  as  the  surrounding  country,  should  assemble  on  the 
bank  of  the  river,  where  they  could  observe  everything  that 
took  place. 

When  the  momentous  occasion  arrived  a  vast  concourse 
of  Indians  gathered  near  the  river  opposite  the  cross, 
waiting  in  silent  and  profound  respect  for  the  opening  of 
the  ceremonies.  At  the  rising  of  the  sun  a  procession  was 
formed,  consisting  of  the  entire  Spanish  force  and  a  few 
chiefs  and  principal  men  from  among  the  Indians,  who  had 
been  especially  invited;  the  whole,  headed  by  the  priests, 
marching  in  perfect  silence  from  the  camp  to  the  place 
where  the  cross  had  been  reared.  Then  kneeling  on  the 
ground,  two  or  three  fervent  prayers  were  offered  up  by  the 
priests,  after  which  the  people  arose,  and,  advancing  by 

236 


DE  SOTO  DISCOVERS   THE  MISSISSIPPI  Rll'ER 

twos,  knelt  at  the  foot  of  the  cross  and  kissed  the  emblem. 
The  ceremony  closed  with  the  chanting  of  a  "  Te  Deum 
Laudamus,"  whereupon  the  procession  returned  to  the  camp 
in  the  same  manner  in  which  it  had  come. 

It  so  happened  that  during  the  succeeding  night  the  rain 
poured  down  in  copious  abundance,  "  to  show  those  heathen 
that  God  doth  hearken  to  those  who  call  on  him  in  truth," 
as  one  of  the  writers  of  the  expedition  piously  expressed 
it.  The  Indians  were  not  only  convinced  by  this  remark- 
able manifestation,  but  they  showed  themselves  more  grate- 
ful than  white  Christians  sometimes  are;  for  early  in  the 
morning  following  the  rain,  they  formed  a  procession  of 
many  thousands  and  marching  solemnly  to  the  open  space 
surrounding  the  cross,  they  knelt  and  loudly  proclaimed 
their  gratitude  to  the  God  of  the  white  men. 

The  sick,  the  halt,  the  lame,  and  the  blind  now  flocked 
to  De  Soto's  quarters,  as  their  predecessors  did  in  the  days 
of  Christ,  and  begged  that  he  would  intercede  with  his  God 
for  their  restoration  to  health.  To  all  of  these  he  replied 
in  the  same  way,  telling  them  that  they  should  "  thank  God, 
who  had  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  and  who  was 
the  bestower  of  these  and  other  far  greater  mercies."  It 
would  be  interesting,  if  possible,  to  follow  the  results  of 
this  conversion  of  the  savage  people,  to  ascertain  if  it  had 
any  permanent  effect  on  their  future  conduct.  It  is  prob- 
able, however,  that  they  merely  added  the  God  of  the  white 
men  to  their  own  list  of  deities  and  demons,  and  appealed 

237 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

to  him  as  occasion  arose,  as  the  Hurons,  the  Iroquois,  and 
the  Algonquins  did  under  the  influence  of  the  French  Jesuits 
during  the  succeeding  century. 

Before  leaving  that  place,  the  cacique  presented  De  Soto 
with  two  of  his  sisters  as  a  special  mark  of  esteem,  "  both 
handsome  and  well-shaped."  Whatever  influence  the  teach- 
ings of  Christianity  may  have  exerted  on  the  minds  of  the 
Indians,  it  did  not  raise  their  estimation  of  women; 
and  Spanish  morals  seem  also  to  have  been  at  a  very  low 
ebb. 

The  people  in  that  part  of  the  country  were  troubled  with 
frequent  inundations  of  the  rivers,  and  in  order  to  provide 
against  these,  many  of  their  houses  were  built  on  artificial 
mounds,  which  they  had  raised  above  the  ordinary  overflow 
of  water.  For  a  similar  reason  they  built  other  mounds  for 
the  reception  of  their  dead,  and  many  of  these  ancient  tumuli 
are  still  to  be  seen,  relics  of  a  vanished  but  wonderfully  in- 
teresting race. 

After  remaining  with  these  hospitable  people  for  a  period 
of  nearly  two  weeks,  De  Soto  resumed  his  march,  this  time 
toward  the  northeast.  He  was  accompanied  by  the  cacique 
and  several  thousand  of  his  warriors,  who,  it  appears  from 
future  developments,  were  at  war  with  a  tribe  whose  terri- 
tory lay  on  the  Mississippi  river,  and  they  availed  themselves 
of  this  opportunity  hoping  to  have  the  assistance  of  the 
Spaniards  in  any  battles  that  might  occur.  They  marched 
three  days  through  open  lands,  when  they  "  came  to  a  great 

238 


AN  INDIAN  CAMP  ON   THE  .1R  KANSAS. 

^T"HE  Indians  met  with  hy  DeSoto  in  the  Arkansas  Country  were  much  less  hostile 
^•^  than  the  tribes  east  of  the  Mississippi,  nor  were  they  nearly  so  advanced  in 
the  primitive  industries  or  comforts  and  security  of  home  life.  It  was  very  rare  to 
find  a  village  built  with  any  thought  of  permanence,  the  rule  being  to  set  up  coni- 
cal tents,  made  of  skins,  or  thatch,  which  were  packed  up,  or  abandoned  when 
the  villagers  desired  to  make  removals  in  the  spring  or  fall.  The  accompanying 
mnnogravure  is  a  representation  of  one  of  the  villages  as  they  appeared  in  the  time 
of  DeSoto. 


e  Iroquois,  and 
the  French  Jesuits 

Soto 

"  both 

;•  the  teach- 

f.he 


1   tKtdfcjh/ 
<-" 

•.ii/iE(rn^(| 

' 


. 
. 


•.  om 
crri- 


DE  SOTO  DISCOVERS   THE  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER 

swamp,  rising  on  the  borders,  with  a  lake  in  the  center  too 
deep  to  be  forded,  and  which  formed  a  kind  of  gulf  on  the 
Mississippi,  into  which  it  emptied  itself."  This  was  doubt- 
less a  portion  of  St.  Francis  river,  within  the  present  limits 
of  Craighead,  or  Poinsett  County,  Arkansas;  for  the  de- 
scription of  the  water  and  the  direction  in  which  they  were 
traveling-  exactly  fit  the  requirements.  Having  crossed  this 
expanse  of  water,  they  came  at  the  end  of  the  second  day 
to  some  elevated  ridges,  or  land  slightly  higher  than  that 
over  which  they  had  been  traveling,  beyond  which  lay  the 
chief  town  of  a  tribe  called  the  Capaha.  This  town  con- 
tained five  hundred  houses,  not  so  large,  however,  as  those 
of  the  Southern  tribes  previously  described;  with  a  popula- 
tion of  perhaps  two  or  three  thousand  people.  It  was  sit- 
uated on  a  slightly  elevated  piece  of  land,  nearly  surrounded 
by  a  bayou  which  emptied  into  the  Mississippi,  or  "  Rio 
Grande,"  as  the  Spaniards  called  it,  a  few  miles  below. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  the  whole  face  of  that  country 
was  altered  by  the  great  earthquake  of  1812,  so  that  it  would 
now  be  very  difficult  to  locate  any  place  by  the  Spanish  de- 
scriptions; but  there  are  several  bayous  and  lakes  in  the 
eastern  part  of  Mississippi  County,  Arkansas,  that  would 
answer  the  purpose.  Everything  points  to  the  fact  that  the 
expedition  by  this  time  not  very  far  from  the  southern 
line  of  Pemiscot  County,  Missouri,  at  the  beginning  of  that 
rich  alluvial  section  which  extends  above  Cape  Girardeau, 
and  which  is  now  famous  the  world  over  for  the  large  crops 

241 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

of  corn  and  wheat  of  a  very  superior  quality  which  it  pro- 
duces. 

These  statements  are  made  in  opposition  to  the  belief  of 
several  very  careful  and  creditable  writers,  who  think  De 
Soto  came  to  the  river  on  this  occasion  below  the  city 
of  Helena;  but  that  proposition  is  hardly  tenable.  The 
Spaniards  could  not  have  come  out  below  Helena  by  march- 
ing northeastwardly  from  Newport;  but  they  could,  and 
probably  did,  reach  the  Mississippi  not  very  far  from  the 
present  town  of  Osceola,  in  Mississippi  Co.,  Ark.  Those 
who  adhere  to  the  other  belief  support  their  contention  by 
referring  to  the  remains  of  a  large  Indian  town  which  are 
still  to  be  seen  on  the  margin  of  "  Old-Town  Bayou,"  about 
eight  miles  below  Helena.  But  may  not  this  have  been 
the  capital  city  of  the  cacique,  Aquixo,  who  came  with  his 
fleet  to  welcome  the  Spaniards  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi? The  location  and  the  circumstances  support  this 
belief.  The  Spaniards  did  not  discover  that  town,  because 
after  crossing  the  river  they  turned  their  course  north- 
westwardly. While  these  matters  are  of  course  merely 
speculative,  it  is  well  enough  to  consider  them,  for  the 
interest  in  the  narrative  is  vastly  increased  by  keeping  in 
touch  with  the  places  visited  by  the  explorers. 

The  friendly  cacique  and  his  warriors,  being  in  advance 
of  their  white  allies,  came  first  to  the  village  of  the  Capaha, 
which  they  instantly  attacked;  and  having  committed  sev- 
eral acts  of  barbarity,  they  so  exasperated  the  people  that 

242 


*  STATUE  OF   1)E  SOTO. 

*||^ERNANDO  DfiSOTO,  bo'ii  in  1500,  \vns  the  successor  of  Narvaez,  in  being  the 
"•'  second  Spaniard  to  undertake  lin  expedition  into  the  unknown  hind  of 
America,  and  to  whom  the  credit  of  having  discovered  the  Mississippi  River, 
1539,  must  be  given.  Among  the  beautiful  pieces  of  sculpture  that  adorns  the 
Exposition  Grounds jtihat  of  the  equestrian  statue  of  DeSoro  is  conspicuous,  the 
work  of  E.  C.  Potter,  who  has  given  an  ideal  representation  of  the  heroic  explorer 
whose  remains  were  committed  to  the  bosom  of  the  great  stream  which  his  quest 
for  gold  had  brought  him  to. 


DrSoro.  born  in  150. 

Spaniard   ?^  ui!<!ei>j| 
•a,  arid  to  whom  rhe  credit 
Tixrt  be  given.       Among  tin.- 

.>»!("!•=  that    r,f   r!;e  emi 


ght  him  to. 


ery  superior  quality  pro- 

>n  oppositio 
.••!e  write? 

- 
*|*?st*mw  b  : 

• 

• 


to  i$t\ 

t.  -, -i&h dor»d«*iilJ*-  asdia&w  r 

lo  basl.  nv/cui^nu  arh   OJnt in^ijjbaox*  HE  pAtrj-^ia:.  •  q<*   buo.*M»£ 

,137^1  I7£U    TO    lii  iflw    fj    bflE    ,K 

adj  .euouoiqenoo  ei.ojoS^t!  •.  H;riJ  ebi., 

- 

.-off  9(1}  ta  no;)£  .•.!>!  nc  ridv'f^  acrl  oflw  .-ISMO*!  /) 

hsiiirnmoo  ">ir- 

-" 


STATUE  OF  T)E  SOTO. 

•fl^ERNANDO  DESoTO,  born  in  1500,  was  the  successor  of  Narvaez,  in  being  the 
•'•'  second  Spaniard  to  undertake  an  expedition  into  the  unknown  land  of 
America,  and  to  whom  the  credit  of  having  discovered  the  Mississippi  River, 
1539,  must  be  given.  Among  the  beautiful  pieces  of  sculpture  that  adorns  the 
Exposition  Grounds  that  of  the  equestrian  statue  of  DeSoto  is  conspicuous,  the 
work  of  E.  C.  Potter,  who  has  given  an  ideal  representation  of  the  heroic  explorer 
whose  remains  were  committed  to  the  bosom  of  the  great  stream  which  his  quest 
for  gold  had  brought  him  to. 


DE  SOTO  DISCOVERS  THE  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER 

it  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  De  Soto  succeeded  in  re- 
storing harmony.  In  fact,  his  army  was  on  the  point  of 
being  surrounded  by  a  horde  of  infuriated  savages,  who 
were  brought  to  pacific  terms  only  by  their  wonder  at  the 
strange  appearance  of  the  white  men,  which  gave  De  Soto 
time  to  make  overtures  to  their  chiefs.  Peace  having  been 
restored,  the  Capaha  showed  their  friendly  disposition  by 
numerous  acts  of  courteous  hospitality. 

These  people  being  sun-worshipers,  were  so  impressed 
with  the  brilliant  luster  of  the  Spaniards'  armor,  that  they 
called  them  "  children  of  the  sun,"  and  in  various  ways  be- 
stowed upon  them  the  most  respectful  attention.  Here 
the  wanderers  remained  for  several  weeks,  treated  all  the 
while  as  highly  honored  guests.  No  overt  act  was  com- 
mitted by  either  side,  but  each  endeavored  by  mutual  kind- 
ness and  courtesy  to  gain  and  keep  the  good-will  of  the 
other. 

This  period  of  rest  on  the  banks  of  the  "  Grand  River  " 
was  more  intensely  enjoyed  by  the  Spaniards  than  any  other 
occasion  throughout  their  wanderings.  They  spent  the 
time  in  hunting  and  fishing,  and  participating  with  the  na- 
tives in  their  feasts  and  games.  Among  other  curious 
specimens,  they  caught  several  spade-fish — shovel-nose  cat- 
in  the  murky  waters  of  the  river,  and  never  having  seen  any- 
thing of  the  kind  before,  they  made  a  special  record  of  their 
remarkable  appearance.  The  natives  taught  their  visitors 
to  roast  and  prepare  the  ears  of  green  corn  which  were 

245 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

just  beginning  to  ripen,  and  which  they  imagined  superior 
to  anything  they  had  ever  eaten.  Wild  plums  were  abund- 
ant, and  the  Spaniards  feasted  daily  on  this  delicious  fruit. 
A  variety  of  plum  is  found  in  that  region  of  a  rich  purple 
color,  as  large  as  a  good-sized  peach,  and  so  juicy  and  sweet 
that  only  those  who  have  tasted  it  can  appreciate  its  won- 
derful flavor.  Here  the  Spaniards  also  found  large  num- 
bers of  raccoons  and  opossums,  which  the  natives  baked 
and  broiled  in  many  toothsome  dishes,  along  with  sweet 
potatoes  and  other  vegetables  that  grew  abundantly  in  the 
rich  soil.  Deer  and  bears  were  likewise  numerous,  and  it 
was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  the  Spaniards  protected 
the  young  pigs  of  their  herd  from  the  inroads  of  bruin. 
De  Soto  presented  several  pairs  of  pigs  to  the  cacique,  the 
descendants  of  which  s.till  inhabit  that  portion  of  Arkansas, 
where  they  are  greatly  esteemed  for  the  sweetness  of  their 
flesh,  especially  when  fattened  on  acorns  and  hickory-nuts, 
as  they  were  at  the  time  of  which  we  are  writing. 

While  the  army  rested  at  Capaha,  De  Soto  was  told  of 
a  country  to  the  northward  where  salt  was  obtained;  and 
as  the  Indians  described  several  kinds  of  metals  in  the  same 
region,  he  supposed  gold  might  also  be  found  there.  He 
accordingly  sent  two  of  his  men,  accompanied  by  Indian 
guides,  into  that  section.  They  traveled  rapidly  toward  the 
northwest,  a  distance  of  more  than  two  hundred  miles,  when 
they  came  into  the  middle  portions  of  South  Missouri, 
among  the  Ozark  hills.  On  their  return  they  brought 

246 


DE  SOTO  DISCOVERS   THE  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER 

samples  of  rock  salt,  besides  specimens  of  lead  and  copper 
ore;  but  they  found  no  gold.  They  represented  the  coun- 
try as  barren  and  thinly  populated,  and  infested  by  such  vast 
herds  of  bison  that  those  animals  destroyed  all  the  products 
of  the  fields.  The  few  natives  who  lived  in  that  region 
were  hunters,  devoting  their  time  to  chasing  buffaloes, 
bears,  deer  and  other  wild  animals.  The  men  procured 
several  fine  robes  made  of  buffalo  and  bear  skins,  "  which 
were  very  convenient  against  the  cold  of  that  country,  be- 
cause they  made  good  fur,  the  hair  of  them  being  as  soft 
as  sheep's  wool." 

Disappointed  once  more  at  not  finding  gold,  and  having 
remained  with  the  Capaha  about  forty  days,  De  Soto  re- 
turned with  his  friends  to  their  village  on  the  White  river; 
where,  bidding  them  farewell,  he  marched  down  that  stream 
to  a  town  called  Quigate,  the  location  of  which  is  supposed 
to  have  been  a  short  distance  below  the  village  of  Clarendon, 
in  Monroe  County,  Arkansas.  This  place  was  reached  on 
the  4th  of  August,  1541 ;  and  while  there  De  Soto  learned 
of  a  province  called  Coligoa,  lying  at  the  foot  of  a  range 
of  mountains  to  the  westward,  beyond  which  he  might  find 
a  region  of  gold.  He  was  told  also  of  some  wonderful 
springs  in  the  same  section  of  country,  whose  waters  poured 
out  of  the  mountains  boiling  hot,  and  of  such  remarkable 
properties  that  all  who  bathed  in  them,  or  drank  of  them, 
were  immediately  healed  of  all  diseases  and  restored  to 
youth.  These  were  the  same  springs  the  accounts  of  which 

247 


had  so  fascinated  Ponce  de  Leon  in  his  search  for  the  Foun- 
tain of  Youth;  and  rumors  of  them  had  followed  De  Soto 
and  his  men  during  the  whole  of  their  wanderings.  As  the 
springs  were  now  apparently  within  easy  reach,  he  set  out 
to  search  for  them,  following  the  course  indicated  by  the 
Indians.  Crossing  White  river,  doubtless  a  short  distance 
below  Clarendon,  he  came  to  the  Arkansas  midway  between 
Pine  Bluff  and  Little  Rock,  and  passing  to  the  southward 
of  the  latter  place,  arrived  at  length  at  the  famous  foun- 
tains. 

The  Indians  had  long  been  familiar  with  the  wonderful 
healing  properties  of  these  waters,  but  as  each  tribe  claimed 
them  as  its  own  peculiar  inheritance  from  the  Great  Spirit, 
they  were  constantly  warring  for  their  possession;  and  it 
seems  that  no  tribe  had  dared  to  build  a  town  there.  De 
Soto  encamped  in  the  valley  at  the  foot  of  the  hills,  where 
he  remained  for  some  time,  he  and  his  men  meanwhile 
bathing  daily  in  the  waters  and  drinking  of  them  freely, 
by  which  they  were  greatly  benefited.  Their  sores  healed, 
their  complaints  disappeared,  and  they  were  indeed  almost 
restored  to  youth. 

On  leaving  the  hot  springs,  the  Spaniards  visited  some 
salt  fountains,  which  are  supposed  to  have  been  in  Saline 
County,  though  the  information  on  this  point  is  by  no 
means  clear.  They  remained  at  these  springs  for  several 
days,  making  salt,  of  which  both  men  and  horses  were  in 
great  need. 

248 


DE  SOTO  DISCOVERS   THE  MISSISSIPPI  RIl'ER 

Passing  thence  westward,  they  came  into  the  country  of 
the  Tula  tribe,  a  warlike  and  enterprising  people.  Here 
another  great  battle  was  fought,  the  women  taking  part  with 
the  men  and  fighting  as  fiercely  as  the  bravest  of  the  war- 
riors. The  Spaniards  were  so  roughly  handled  that  though 
their  enemies  were  defeated,  they  were  obliged  to  remain 
in  that  place  about  three  weeks,  in  order  that  the  wounded 
might  have  time  to  recover  from  their  hurts.  This  period 
was  improved  by  making  explorations  of  the  adjacent  coun- 
try, small  parties  being  sent  out  for  that  purpose,  who  re- 
ported a  large  and  thrifty  population  and  numerous  herds 
of  buffaloes.  This  region  was  probably  within  the  present 
limits  of  Polk  County,  Arkansas,  on  the  head  waters  of 
the  Washita  river. 

De  Soto  was  now  informed  of  a  rich  country  to  the  north- 
ward, called  in  the  Indian  tongue  Utiangue;  and  the  old 
story  being  repeated  about  gold  existing  there  in  large  quanti- 
ties, he  resolved  to  turn  his  course  in  that  direction.  The 
records  concerning  this  country  are  incomplete,  and  there 
is  much  uncertainty  about  its  location;  but  as  it  lay  north- 
ward of  the  territory  of  the  Tula  nation,  in  a  mountainous 
country,  and  near  the  36th  parallel  of  latitude,  it  must  have 
been  within  the  present  limits  of  Washington  County,  and 
probably  not  far  from  the  town  of  Fayetteville.  This  sup- 
position is  strengthened  by  corroborative  circumstances. 
After  traveling  northward  from  Tula  for  several  days,  they 
came  to  a  large  river,  doubtless  the  Arkansas  near  Van 

249 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

Buren.  Having  crossed  this  river,  they  marched  five  days 
"  over  a  rough,  mountainous  country,  closely  wooded."  At 
length  they  came  to  the  town  of  Utiangue,  which  "  con- 
tained numerous  well-built  houses,  situated  in  a  fine  plain, 
watered  by  a  wide,  running  river,  the  same  that  passes 
through  the  province  of  Cayas." 

While  it  is  true  that  there  is  no  "  wide  river  "  in  Wash- 
ington County,  yet  White  river  finds  its  sources  there,  in 
small,  swiftly-running  confluents;  and  after  making  a  cir- 
cuit through  a  portion  of  southwest  Missouri,  it  bends  south- 
ward and  flows  through  the  "  province  of  Cayas."  This 
province  embraced  a  large  territory,  extending  from  Saline 
on  the  west  to  Prairie  County  on  the  east.  Considering  all 
the  circumstances  of  their  journey,  the  Spaniards  could  not 
have  been  elsewhere  at  this  time  than  on  the  head  waters  of 
White  river;  and  the  fact  that  there  is  no  dispute  about  the 
parallel  of  latitude  confirms  this  belief.  They  had  not  been 
accustomed  to  great  rivers  in  Spain,  such  as  we  have  in  this 
country ;  so  that  the  upper  portion  of  White  river  may  have 
seemed  "  wide  "  as  well  as  "  swiftly-running  "  to  them.  The 
latter  expression  is  certainly  applicable. 

The  head  waters  of  White  river  were  the  northern  and 
western  limit  of  De  Soto's  explorations.  Here  he  rested; 
thence  he  returned  to  the  Mississippi,  where  he  died,  as  we 
shall  see.  We  think  it  may  be  safely  assumed  that  the  great 
explorer  spent  the  last  winter  of  his  life  not  far  from  the 

picturesque  town  of  Fayetteville,  in  the  State  of  Arkansas; 

250 


DE  SOTO  DISCOVERS  THE  MISSISSIPPI  RIVER 

and  perhaps  if  a  careful  search  were  made  some  remains 
of  the  town  of  Utiangue  might  be  found  in  that  locality. 

The  Western  Indians  had  received  bad  reports  of  the 
white  men,  and  being  hunters  rather  than  agriculturists, 
and  of  a  turbulent  disposition,  they  resisted  their  progress 
from  the  time  the  expedition  left  the  salt  springs.  Nearly 
every  mile  marked  the  site  of  a  battle  or  an  ambuscade ;  and 
when  they  came  to  Utiangue  they  found  the  place  deserted. 
It  was  a  large  town,  capable  of  accommodating  two  or  three 
thousand  people,  according  to  the  Indian  mode  of  living. 
When  the  Spaniards  took  possession,  they  found  a  plentiful 
supply  of  corn,  beans,  dried  fruit,  and  nuts,  which  the  in- 
habitants had  stored  in  their  granaries  and  caches  for  winter 
use.  To  all  of  these  supplies  the  Spaniards  helped  them- 
selves. The  country  in  the  vicinity  was  fertile,  and  well 
cultivated;  while  the  forests  abounded  in  wild  game,  which 
the  wanderers  by  this  time  had  learned  how  to  secure.  Bear- 
meat,  as  well  as  the  beef  of  the  buffalo,  now  became  plenti- 
ful in  the  camp;  and  as  cold  weather  was  at  hand,  the  gov- 
ernor resolved  to  establish  his  winter-quarters  there.  The 
houses  of  the  natives  were  accordingly  rendered  as  comfort- 
able as  possible,  and  palisades  and  earth-works  established 
around  the  place  as  a  protection  against  the  almost  nightly 
attacks  of  the  savages. 

The  winter  of  1541-42  proved  to  be  unusually  severe. 
Snow  fell  to  a  depth  of  several  feet,  and  froze  until  it  was 
like  a  sheet  of  ice  over  the  whole  landscape.  For  more  than 

251 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

a  month  the  Spaniards  were  confined  to  the  limits  of  their 
fortifications,  until  their  stock  of  fire-wood  was  exhausted, 
and  a  dreary  prospect  confronted  them.  But,  as  in  all  their 
other  trials  and  emergencies,  De  Soto  found  a  way  to  over- 
come this  one.  Teams  of  horses  were  harnessed  to  heavy 
logs,  and  driven  through  the  snow  to  a  neighboring  forest, 
whereby  a  roadway  was  broken  over  which  the  men  brought 
the  needed  supplies  of  fuel.  But  this  proved  to  be  a  dan- 
gerous undertaking,  for  no  sooner  did  the  Indians  discover 
the  state  to  which  their  enemies  were  reduced  than  they 
became  more  hostile  and  vicious  than  ever.  They  waylaid 
every  party  that  went  out  for  wood,  killing  or  wounding 
several  of  the  men,  while  others  were  captured  and  subjected 
to  tortures  which  we  have  not  the  heart  to  describe.  It  was 
impossible  while  the  snow  lay  on  the  ground  to  secure  any 
of  the  natives,  for  being  more  agile  than  the  Spaniards, 
they  discharged  their  arrows  and  darted  away  into  the  depths 
of  the  forest,  while  their  clumsy  opponents,  burdened  with 
their  heavy  armor  and  weapons,  were  confined  to  the  road- 
ways. At  length,  several  Indians  were  taken,  who,  by  De 
Soto's  orders,  were  mutilated  in  a  most  shocking  manner, 
and  turned  loose  as  a  warning  to  their  friends.  But  these 
barbarities  only  added  fuel  to  their  resentment,  until  by  the 
time  spring  came  the  Spaniards  found  themselves  engaged 
in  an  almost  continuous  conflict  with  the  infuriated  natives. 


252 


'DE  SOTO  aV  THE  SHORE  OF  If  II  IT  h  'R.ll'EK. 

E  headwaters  of  White  River,   Arkansas,  were  the  extreme  westt 
DeSotp's  explorations.     Upon  the  shore  of  this  stream  he  - 
•ossession  of  the  country  in  the  name  of  his  sovereign 
d  the  futility  of  continuing  a  further  scan  ' 

1  the  remnant  of  his  shattered,  weary  and  ragged  force  back  to  the  Mi?*; 
..  \d  thence  make  their  way  to  Havana. 


j 

one. 

the  n 
the 


o  the  Hn 

• 

5  in  all  their 

over- 
to  heavy 

brought 

. 


'"IF 


' 


gile 

irted  away  into  the  dep 


ner, 
the 


DIVISION  XII. 
Death  of  De  Soto. 


IT  was  during  this  winter  of  1541-42,  at  the  village 
of  Utiangue  that  Juan  Ortiz,  the  interpreter,  died.  Hard- 
ship and  exposure  had  so  weakened  his  physical  constitu- 
tion that  an  attack  of  pleurisy  soon  terminated  his  career. 
Ortiz  had  all  along  shown  himself  the  most  useful  man  in 
the  expedition,  by  his  facility  in  communicating  with  the 
various  tribes  and  nations  with  whom  the  Spaniards  came 
in  contact.  He  was  in  fact  the  only  interpreter  that  De 
Soto  could  rely  upon,  for  the  natives  who  essayed  to  act 
in  that  capacity  were  never  able  to  master  the  intricacies  of 
the  Spanish  tongue,  and  consequently  could  neither  receive 
nor  impart  correct  information  as  to  names  and  locations, 
or  concerning  any  other  matter.  After  the  death  of  Ortiz 
the  records  of  the  expedition  are  confused  and  unintelligible ; 
and  the  difficulty  of  communicating  with  the  savages  led 
to  numerous  mistakes  and  acts  of  hostility  which  a  better 
understanding  might  have  avoided.  Everything  was  now 
in  confusion;  De  Soto  grew  dispirited  and  irritable;  more 
than  half  his  men  were  dead,  while  the  remainder 
had  suffered  from  wounds  and  hardships  until  they  were 
scarcely  able  to  perform  the  duties  imposed  upon  them  by 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

necessity.  Not  more  than  one-half  the  horses  remained; 
these  were  lame  and  gaunt,  and  had  been  without  shoes  for 
more  than  a  year;  for  all  the  iron  had  been  consumed  in 
boat-building  and  the  manufacture  of  new  arms.  The 
governor  now  saw  his  fortune  wasted,  his  ambitions  as  an 
explorer  blasted — for  having  discovered  no  gold  he  counted 
everything  as  lost — and  he  brooded  over  the  outrageous 
flings  of  fortune  until  he  seemed  scarcely  like  the  same 
man.  At  length  he  resolved  to  make  his  way  back  to  the 
Mississippi  with  his  shattered  and  disheartened  army,  and 
there,  building  boats,  float  down  to  the  Gulf,  where  he 
might  by  some  means  secure  communication  with  friends 
in  Cuba. 

With  the  opening  of  spring,  1542,  the  fortifications  at 
Utiangue  were  abandoned,  and  the  Spaniards  set  out  on  their 
long  march  back  to  'the  Mississippi.  The  records  of  this 
painful  tramp  across  the  State  of  Arkansas  are  so  meager 
that  it  is  impossible  to  follow  the  route  with  any  degree  of 
accuracy;  but  it  pursued  a  southeastward  course,  crossing 
to  the  south  side  of  the  Arkansas  and  finally  reaching  the 
Mississippi,  probably  in  Desha  or  Chicot  County.  There 
are  two  points  which  the  descriptions  appear  to  fit,  namely, 
Arkansas  City  and  Lake  Village,  with  the  preponderance 
in  favor  of  the  latter.  Most  assuredly  the  point  of  return 
to  the  Father  of  Waters  was  not  far  distant  from  one  of 
these  places.  Wherever  it  was,  De  Soto  found  a  large 
settlement  near  the  banks  of  the  river,  inhabited  by  a  people 

256 


DEATH  OF  DE  SOTO 

who  called  themselves  Guachoya.  The  town  consisted  of 
about  three  hundred  houses,  capable  of  accommodating  three 
or  four  thousand  people.  It  was  built  on  two  artificial  hills, 
or  mounds,  surrounded  by  strong  walls  of  palisades  and 
earth;  and  it  is  not  too  great  a  stretch  of  the  imagination 
to  suppose  that  these  mounds  are  still  in  existence,  unless 
the  river  has  swallowed  them  up  in  its  numerous  shiftings 
of  channel.  On  the  other  hand,  they  may  be  distant  from 
the  present  bed  of  the  river;  for  many  and  great  changes 
have  taken  place  during  the  three  and  a  half  centuries  that 
have  elapsed  since  the  death  of  De  Soto.  If  the  mounds 
could  be  found  they  would  afford  a  certain  landmark  from 
which  we  might  trace  other  events  in  the  early  history  of 
this  interesting  region. 

The  people  of  Guachoya  were  not  inclined  to  be  friendly, 
and  as  De  Soto  was  in  no  condition  to  offer  them  battle, 
he  resorted  to  moderate  measures,  and  finally  won  them 
over  to  a  sort  of  half-way  friendliness.  The  chief  allowed 
the  white  men  to  enter  the  town,  and  gave  them  quarters 
and  food;  but  his  manner  showed  plainly  that  he  would 
have  preferred  other  guests. 

These  people  could  give  no  account  of  the  sea,  although 
the  governor  made  diligent  inquiry  concerning  it.  They 
had  no  word  in  their  language,  or  idea,  or  emblem,  that 
could  make  them  comprehend  a  great  expanse  of  salt  water 
like  the  ocean.  The  river  sometimes  spread  out  over  the 
bottoms  that  surrounded  their  town  until  it  appeared  like 

257 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

a  great  inland  sea ;  but  it  was  not  salt,  and  it  soon  dried  up 
and  retired  within  its  banks.  So  they  could  tell  De  Soto 
nothing  when  he  asked  them  about  the  sea.  This  con- 
vinced him  that  the  distance  to  the  Gulf  must  be  very  great, 
and  yet  he  hoped  that  in  this  respect  he  might  be  mistaken. 
Accordingly,  he  sent  a  company  of  men  down  the  river  to 
seek  intelligence  of  the  sea,  but  after  eight  days  they  re- 
turned, having  traveled  a  distance  of  only  forty-five  miles, 
"  on  account  of  the  great  windings  of  the  river,  and  the 
swamps  and  torrents  with  which  it  was  bordered."  Any 
one  who  has  ever  been  in  that  region  and  attempted  to  make 
his  way  through  the  "  swamps  and  torrents  "  and  tangled 
forests,  will  recognize  the  accuracy  of  this  description.  It 
was  now  the  latter  part  of  May,  when  the  river  was  burdened 
with  the  annual  spring  freshets,  until  the  sloughs  and  bayous 
and  low  places  were  flooded  with  water,  while  the  channel 
was  covered  with  driftwood  and  floating  logs.  It  was  a 
sight  that  might  have  appalled  the  hearts  of  men  more 
prone  to  fear  than  those  veteran  Spaniards,  but  they  had 
so  schooled  themselves  to  danger  that  they  were  no  longer 
deterred  by  any  obstacle  or  peril,  let  it  be  ever  so  great. 

Very  few  of  the  Indian  tribes  provided  themselves  with 
any  more  food  than  they  needed  for  their  own  consumption, 
so  that  the  irruption  of  an  army  like  De  Soto's  soon  reduced 
the  country  to  the  verge  of  famine.  It  was  necessary,  in 
the  present  instance,  to  secure  forage  from  more  distant 
places,  while  the  workmen  were  engaged  in  building  the 


MOUND  GUILDERS  OF 

•ff  r  is  a  noteworthy  fact,  mentioned  by  DeSoto  but  rarely  adverted  to  by  histor- 
"  ians,  that  at  the  time  of  his  visit  to  the  Arkansas  country  there  were  villages, 
which  he  visited,  that  were  distinguished  by  artificial  mounds;  sometimes  these 
mounds  were  near  the  villages,  but  usually  they  were  occupied  by  the  village  itself. 
As  the  country  in  which  they  appeared  was  invariably  prairie,  the  mounds  were 
no  doubt  .built  to  protect  the  village  from  enemies,  while  the  others  probably  served 
for  funeral  purposes,  as  nearly  all  Indian  tribes  pay  reverence  to  their  dead,  and 
look  well  to  the  preservation  of  their  bodies  from  disturbance. 


on  dried  up 

be  very  gre 

ken. 
ie  river 

- 

the 

AO  V/AA(\A\'\ 


;..i   tod  oioS-jQ  yd  b^uoitnu 


• 

b  moi)  =-3fb 


had 


DEATH  OF  DE  SOTO 

brigantines  in  which  De  Soto  hoped  to  float  his  men  to  the 
sea.  On  inquiry  he  learned  that  the  country  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river  was  very  fertile  and  populous,  but  that  it 
was  occupied  by  a  people  who  were  both  proud  and  warlike, 
and  who  would  probably  resent  any  invasion  of  their  ter- 
ritory by  foreigners.  But  there  was  no  help  for  it ;  the  men 
might  as  well  die  in  battle  as  by  starvation,  and  a  de- 
tachment was  accordingly  sent  across  the  river  to  confer 
with  the  natives.  The  village  of  the  cacique  was  soon 
found,  for  it  was  not  far  distant  from  the  banks  of  the 
stream.  It  was  a  large  town  of  more  than  five  hundred 
houses,  well  fortified  and  swarming  with  armed  warriors. 
As  soon  as  the  Spaniards  appeared,  the  cacique  sent  a  herald 
to  inquire  by  what  authority  they  dared  invade  his  coun- 
try, and  intimating  that  they  had  better  depart  at  once.  The 
leader  of  the  detachment  returned  a  soft  answer,  saying 
they  were  friends  who  had  come  to  buy  corn  and  food; 
and  begged  to  be  admitted  to  the  king's  village.  But  it 
was  all  in  vain.  The  savage  monarch  returned  a  taunting 
response,  notifying  the  strangers  that  if  they  did  not  im- 
mediately depart  he  would  attack  them  with  his  army  and 
destroy  them  all.  The  Spaniards  thereupon  recrossed  the 
river,  and  reported  the  unfortunate  result  of  their  overtures. 
They  had  learned,  however,  that  the  hostile  natives  were 
a  branch  of  the  great  Natchez  tribe,  sun-worshipers,  and 
the  most  warlike  and  enterprising  of  all  the  Southern  na- 
tions. De  Soto  therefore  sent  another  detachment,  with  a 

261 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

message  to  the  king,  stating  that  he  and  his  men  were  chil- 
dren of  the  sun,  and  desired  him  to  visit  them  as  a  brother. 
To  this  message  the  king  haughtily  replied,  "  Tell  your 
chief  that  if  he  be  the  child  of  the  sun,  to  dry  up  the  river, 
and  I  will  come  over  and  do  homage  to  him." 

"  But,"  in  the  language  of  one  whose  pen  it  is  pleasant 
to  follow,  "  De  Soto's  spirits  were  failing  him ;  he  had 
brooded  over  his  past  error  in  abandoning  the  seacoast, 
until  he  was  sick  at  heart;  and,  as  he  saw  the  perils  of  his 
situation  increasing,  new  and  powerful  enemies  springing  up 
around  him,  while  his  scanty  force  was  daily  diminishing, 
he  became  anxious  for  the  preservation  of  the  residue  of  his 
followers,  and  desired  to  avoid  all  further  warfare." 

The  melancholy  condition  of  his  mind,  together  with  the 
incessant  fatigue  to  which  he  had  so  long  exposed  himself, 
as  well  as  the  inclemency  of  the  climate,  soon  brought  on 
a  slow  fever;  and  the  great  explorer  realized  that  his  end 
was  approaching.  To  the  last  he  remained  a  hero.  Even 
while  he  lay  on  his  sick-bed,  suffering  the  pains  of  disease 
and  that  anguish  of  mind  which  always  accompanies  defeat, 
he  continued  to  direct  every  movetnent  about  the  camp,  is- 
suing his  daily  bulletin  of  orders  as  if  he  were  still  in  the 
saddle.  But  at  length,  becoming  aware  that  the  final  mo- 
ment was  very  near,  he  drew  up  his  will,  transmitting  his 
authority  as  commander-in-chief  to  Luis  de  Moscoso,  and 
minutely  directing  the  future  course  of  the  expedition.  Then 
he  called  his  officers  to  his  bedside,  two  at  a  time,  bade  them 

262 


DEATH  OF  DE  SOTO 

an  affectionate  farewell,  and  begged  their  forgiveness  if  he 
had  at  any  time  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty  been  harsh  to- 
ward them.  He  thanked  them  for  their  fidelity  to  him,  re- 
gretted that  it  was  not  in  his  power  to  reward  them  bounti- 
fully, conjured  them  to  remain  loyal  to  the  king,  and  to 
maintain  a  steadfast  friendship  and  affection  for  one  another. 
He  next  called  his  soldiers  to  him,  by  twenties  according  to 
their  rank,  thanked  them  for  the  fidelity  and  courage  which 
they  had  always  displayed  in  his  service,  and  while  many 
wept  he  took  an  affectionate  leave  of  them. 

These  duties  performed,  De  Soto  laid  himself  down  upon 
his  bed  and  yielded  up  his  heroic  spirit  to  Him  from  whom 
he  had  received  it.  The  exact  date  of  his  death  is  not 
known,  but  the  event  is  supposed  to  have  occurred  about  the 
5th  of  June,  1542. 

There  is  always  begotten  among  brave  men  who  suffer 
together  a  sentiment  of  affection  and  comradeship  which 
the  death  of  one  makes  stronger  in  the  survivors,  and  so  it  was 
in  this  instance.  Now  that  their  leader  was  gone,  De  Soto's 
veterans  mourned  him  as  a  brother.  If  any  heartburnings 
had  been  engendered  during  their  long  association,  they 
were  forgotten;  only  the  pleasant  memory  of  devotion  and 
fellowship  in  trial  and  danger  remained.  The  men  felt  that 
they  had  lost  an  elder  brother  rather  than  a  commander;  a 
father,  whose  affection  had  guided  them  through  years  of 
peril  and  disaster;  and  now  that  he  was  dead,  they  felt  his 
loss  all  the  more  keenly  because  they  could  not  give  his  re- 

263 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

mains  that  decent  and  honorable  interment  which  his  rank 
and  high  character  deserved.  They  were  in  an  enemy's 
country,  among  savages,  who  had  no  respect  for  the  dead 
of  those  who  were  opposed  to  them,  and  who  on  various 
occasions  had  desecrated  the  graves  of  their  comrades. 

In  order  to  prevent  anything  of  the  kind  in  the  present 
instance,  they  resolved  to  bury  their  commander  in  a  secret 
place;  and  for  the  purpose  of  still  further  misleading  the 
Indians,  they  represented  to  them  that  he  was  a  child  of  the 
sun,  and  therefore  immortal.  The  savages  were  made  to 
believe  that  though  he  was  sick,  he  could  not  die;  and  after 
death  had  come,  they  were  told  that  he  had  recovered  and 
had  gone  to  another  place. 

A  spot  was  selected  near  the  village,  in  the  midst  of  a 
number  of  pits  and  uneven  places,  which  would  serve  to  hide 
the  grave;  and  there  in  the  darkness  of  the  night  they  laid 
the  body.  Then  the  place  was  leveled  off  as  if  for  a  parade- 
ground,  and  in  order  to  still  further  carry  out  the  deception, 
and  at  the  same  time  bestow  some  measure  of  military  honor 
upon  their  dead  commander,  the  entire  force  marched  to  the 
ground,  and  after  parading  over  the  spot,  fired  a  last  salute 
from  the  harquebuses  and  the  cannon. 

Evidences  remained,  however,  that  the  Indians  were  not 
deceived,  and  fearing  they  might  remove  the  body  after  the 
departure  of  the  army,  it  was  resolved  to  dispose  of  it  in 
a  manner  that  would  afford  greater  security.  A  portion  of 
a  large  tree  of  the  water-oak  species,  of  a  proper  length, 

264 


A  SCENE  ON  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 

'TT'HE  Mississippi  is  noted  for  its  scenery  between  LaCrosse  and  St.  Paul,  an;1 
*"  from  Memphis  to  Natchez.  In  other  portions  the  banks  are  often  flat, 
but  extremely  fertile,  embracing  the  richest  cotton  plantations  in  the  world,  Th. 
scene  herewith  presented  represents  the  river  and  its  banks  near  the  point  when 
DeSoto  is  supposed  to  have  crossed  it. 


.ank 

>ent 

• 


* 

uioJeH   ot 

' 


DEATH  OF  DE  SOTO 

and  having  almost  the  weight  of  metal,  was  accordingly  cut 
off  and  hollowed  out  for  a  coffin;  and  in  this  the  body  was 
placed  at  night,  and  being  secured  by  a  heavy  board  nailed 
in  place  of  a  lid,  it  was  taken  silently  in  the  thick  darkness 
to  the  middle  of  the  river,  and  there  sunk  in  many  fathoms 
of  water.  It  seemed  appropriate,  indeed,  that  the  great  ex- 
plorer of  the  Mississippi  Valley  should  rest  at  last  in  the 
bosom  of  its  mighty  river. 

In  considering  the  character  of  De  Soto,  his  severity  to- 
ward the  Indians  naturally  becomes  prominent,  and  always 
to  his  disadvantage.  This  is  unavoidable  in  the  just  balances 
that  are  cast  by  history;  but  allowance  should  be  made  for 
the  age  in  which  he  lived  and  the  influences  that  controlled 
his  actions.  The  Indians  at  that  time  were  regarded  as  soul- 
less heathen,  whom  it  was  a  virtue  to  destroy,  in  order  that 
they  might  not  encumber  the  earth ;  and  the  cruelties  which 
the  Spanish  leader  inflicted  upon  them  were  generally  in 
retaliation  for  outrages  to  which  his  men  had  been  subjected, 
or  as  a  warning  against  the  perpetration  of  similar  deeds 
in  the  future.  At  that  time  barbarism  prevailed  all  over 
the  world;  cruel  and  brutal  punishments  were  inflicted  for 
trivial  offenses,  in  the  most  enlightened  nations.  The 
French  have  never  been  accused  of  such  extremes  in  this 
respect  as  the  Spaniards,  yet  a  century  and  a  half  later  than 
the  date  of  which  we  are  writing,  when  men  had  made  con- 
siderable advances  toward  better  things,  one  of  the  punish- 
ments for  desertion  in  the  French  army  serving  in  the  Mis- 

265 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

sissippi  Valley,  was  to  confine  the  culprit  alive  in  a  wooden 
coffin  and  sever  his  body  with  a  whipsaw.  And  more  than 
two  centuries  and  a  half  following  the  death  of  De  Soto,  in 
the  war  in  La  Vendee,  men,  women  and  children  were 
thrown  by  hundreds  into  long  trenches  and  buried  alive,  for 
no  other  crime  than  loyalty  to  their  religion  and  their  king. 
This  was  done,  too,  while  men  boasted  of  the  supre- 
macy of  reason.  There  are  shocking  examples  of  cruelty 
even  among  our  own  people.  More  than  a  century  after 
De  Soto's  death,  the  Pilgrims  of  New  England,  whose  very 
name  is  a  synonym  of  religious  integrity,  committed  bar- 
barities in  their  wars  with  King  Philip  and  other  savages 
of  that  region,  equalling  in  horror  the  most  extreme  punish- 
ments inflicted  by  the  Spanish  commander.  In  glancing 
back  through  the  pages  of  history,  we  find  that  no  race  can 
with  justice  say  to  another,  "  We  are  better  than  you."  All 
were  alike  in  ignorance  and  cruelty ;  and  the  best  we  can  do 
is  to  draw  the  mantle  of  charity  over  their  deeds,  and  thank 
God  that  we  live  in  a  more  enlightened  age. 


266 


DIVISION  XIII. 
Explorations  of  Luis  Alvarado  De  Moscoso. 


Moscoso,  like  his  late  commander,  had  been  an  adven- 
turer in  Central  America  and  Peru,  where  he  acquired  a 
large  fortune,  which  he  subsequently  dissipated  in  luxurious 
living  in  Spain.  Joining  the  expedition  under  De  Soto, 
penniless  and  eager  to  retrieve  his  fortunes,  he  served  gal- 
lantly as  second  in  command  during  the  whole  of  its  wan- 
derings ;  and  now  the  chief  being  dead,  he  assumed  the  func- 
tions of  commander  by  authority  of  the  will  of  his  late 
superior. 

A  few  days  after  the  death  of  De  Soto,  Moscoso  called 
a  council  of  his  officers  with  a  view  to  deciding  on  their 
future  course.  It  was  unanimously  resolved  to  abandon  the 
idea  of  returning  to  Spain.  The  proud  cavaliers  could  not 
endure  the  thought  of  meeting  their  old  associates  in  the 
character  of  beggared  and  disappointed  adventurers;  and 
with  a  single  voice  they  cried  out  that  they  would  rather 
perish  in  the  wilderness  than  endure  such  ignominy. 

During  their  journeyings  west  of  the  Mississippi  rumors 
had  come  to  them  of  companies  of  white  men  wandering 
over  the  country  in  the  distant  West;  rumors  founded  on 

267 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

the  explorations  of  Coronado,  who  had  discovered  the  Mis- 
souri river  near  the  present  location  of  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  as 
already  related.  After  mature  deliberation,  therefore,  it 
was  decided  that  they  would  return  over  the  course  they 
had  already  pursued,  and  finding  their  countrymen  if  pos- 
sible, make  their  way  to  Mexico.  Acting  on  this  decision, 
they  broke  camp  about  two  weeks  after  the  death  of  their 
beloved  leader,  and  once  more  turned  their  faces  westward. 

It  appears  that  they  proceeded  by  an  almost  direct  route 
to  the  hot  and  saline  springs  of  central  Arkansas,  where 
they  spent  some  time  recuperating  their  wasted  strength 
and  supplying  themselves  with  salt  for  the  remainder  of 
their  journey. 

On  leaving  the  springs  they  pursued  a  southwestern  course 
until  they  came  to  Reel  river,  probably  near  the  present  site 
of  Fulton,  in  Hempstead  County.  This  country  was  in- 
habited by  a  tribe  of  Indians  calling  themselves  Naguatax, 
since  transformed  into  Natchitoches,  whose  principal  town 
occupied  an  island  in  the  river.  The  place  was  so  strongly 
fortified  that,  with  its  inaccessible  location,  it  was  almost 
impregnable;  and  yet  these  Indians  do  not  appear  to  have 
been  of  a  warlike  disposition.  They  were  allied  with  the 
Washitas  and  the  Capichis,  and  by  means  of  this  confedera- 
tion controlled  a  large  scope  of  territory.  The  Naguatax 
were  sun-worshipers,  and  kept  a  perpetual  fire  burning  in 
their  temple  on  the  island;  in  which  respect  they  resembled 
the  Natchez  tribe.  They  also  manufactured  salt  at  a  neigh- 

268 


EXPLORATIONS  OF  LUIS  ALVARADO  DE  MOSCOSO 

boring  lake,  which  they  bartered  with  other  tribes  for  skins 
and  grains.  The  Spaniards  were  hospitably  treated  by  these 
people,  a  kindness  which  they  appreciated,  for  in  their  march 
from  the  springs  southward  they  had  passed  through  the 
country  of  a  very  hostile  nation,  at  whose  hands  they  suf- 
fered greatly. 

On  leaving  the  country  of  the  Naguatax,  they  followed 
the  course  of  the  Red  river,  a  name  which  they  bestowed 
upon  that  stream  in  consequence  of  the  color  of  its  waters, 
derived  from  the  iron  deposits  through  which  it  flows. 

The  route  pursued  by  the  Spaniards  now  led  them  through 
the  southern  portions  of  Indian  Territory  and  Oklahoma, 
and  the  northern  part  of  Texas,  over  the  Staked  Plain,  and 
to  the  foothills  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  in  new  Mexico. 
From  all  accounts  they  must  have  penetrated  nearly  as  far 
as  the  hot  springs  of  Las  Vegas,  or  even  to  the  present  site 
of  Santa  Fe;  and  had  they  proceeded  thence  northward  into 
the  confines  of  Colorado,  they  might  have  discovered  the 
rich  gold-producing  region  they  had  so  persistently  sought. 
Thus  they  came  at  last  almost  to  the  object  of  their  search, 
without  finding  it ! 

A  portion  of  their  route  passed  through  a  region  abound- 
ing with  buffaloes,  where  they  found  bands  of  savages  dif- 
ferent from  any  they  had  previously  encountered.  These 
are  supposed  to  have  been  hunting  parties  of  Pawnees  and 
Comanches,  who  roamed  over  a  very  large  district,  lived 
mainly  by.  the  chase,  and  were  of  a  very  ferocious  disposi- 

269 


16 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

tion.  The  home  country  of  the  Pawnees  lay  on  the  Platte 
river  and  its  tributaries,  in  Nebraska ;  but  being  nomads  and 
hunters,  bands  of  them  were  sometimes  encountered  as  far 
south  as  Texas.  They  were  inveterate  enemies  of  the  Sioux, 
and  the  fortunes  of  war  with  that  powerful  nation  often 
drove  them  out  of  their  own  territory  into  the  plains  of  the 
South.  At  a  later  period,  when  the  French  came  west  from 
Canada,  they  heard  of  the  Pawnees  through  the  Illinois,  by 
whom  they  were  regarded  as  irreclaimable.  Many  were 
taken  prisoners  in  the  wars  between  the  two  races,  and  sold 
as  slaves  to  the  French,  who  carried  them  back  to  Canada, 
where  on  account  of  their  untamable  disposition  they  were 
retained  in  perpetual  bondage.  For  this  reason  it  became 
a  custom  to  call  every  Indian  slave  a  Pani,  this  being  an 
abbreviation  of  Pawnee.  In  their  own  country  they  lived  in 
lodges,  covered  with  earth  as  a  protection  against  the  ex- 
treme cold  of  the  climate;  they  also  cultivated  a  little  corn, 
beans,  melons,  and  tobacco;  but  their  chief  reliance  was  in 
hunting,  and  in  forays  into  the  territory  of  other  tribes. 
They  worshiped  the  sun,  and  from  time  to  time  sacrificed 
prisoners  of  war  to  their  deity,  as  an  inducement  for  him 
to  give  them  bountiful  crops  and  an  abundant  supply  of 
game.  They  were  very  expert  in  the  handling  of  their 
weapons,  one  of  their  favorite  amusements  being  the  casting 
of  a  spear  through  a  rapidly  rolling  hoop,  at  a  distance  of 
thirty  to  fifty  paces.  Their  bows,  which  were  small  in  size 
as  compared  with  those  of  the  Southern  Indians,  were  so 

270 


COMANCHE  INDIAN  WOMAN  AND  CHILD. 

E  Comanche  Indians  are  nomadic  in  their  habits,  who  have  for  ages  made 
their  home  in  the  South-west,  in  Texas  and  New  Mexico.  They  have  been 
distinguished,  like  their  neighbors,  the  Apaches,  for  cruelty  and  love  of  fighting, 
and  their  subjection  has  given  the  government  much  trouble  and  difficulty.  Though 
occupying  a  warm  country  they  wear  blankets,  and  clothe  themselves  as  warmly 
as  the  northern  tribes,  a  habit  no  doubt  acquired  as  a  protection  against  the  sudden 
changes  of  weather  in  northwest  Texas,  where  a  blizzard  often  follows  in  the  wake 
of  a  hot  wave. 


Pawnees  lay  c 

•.  '  .  - 

^cri»  sometimes  encountered  as  far 
Trass     T"*wv  .  rate  eaeraies  of  th< 

!  tbe  fettWMBi  of  w*»r  -  powerful  nation  c 

•;•«  the***  o«t  ut  the':-  y  into  :  the 

•.ft*      •*  *  A  i^sw  ;  rom, 

IVM, 


£d  od//  .?){derf  liarii  ni  aihcmon  »K  ^^t£ib^I 


y/oi  }»«£  .*sri3sqJflL''r, 

'  iBH  iK3v/  v_9ril  vilnu 
tt}>£firbatfjnfi)du6fco 


* 

ince  w? 

:ther  tr- 

ced 
him 
of 
!ieir 
ting 
.?  of 

-mall  in 

ff  SO 


EXPLORATIONS  OF  LUIS  ALVARADO  DE  MOSCOSO 

strengthened  with  buffalo  sinews  that  it  was  not  an  extraor- 
dinary thing  for  them  to  shoot  an  arrow  entirely  through 
one  of  those  animals;  and  so  rapidly  were  the  shafts  dis- 
charged that  even  when  the  victim  had  been  pierced  through 
the  heart,  the  marksman  would  shoot  half  a  dozen  or  more 
arrows  into  the  body  before  it  fell.  The  Pawnees  were 
smaller  in  stature  than  the  Southern  Indians,  but  they  were 
well-formed  and  fine-looking;  and  their  fashion  of  shaving 
all  of  the  head  except  the  scalp-lock,  which  in  turn  they 
decorated  with  eagles'  feathers,  gave  them  a  peculiarly  noble 
appearance.  Their  women  were  decently  clothed  in  a  long 
tunic  of  dressed  skins,  or  cloth  made  of  reeds  or  bark,  reach- 
ing below  the  knees,  and  fringed  at  the  seams  and  bottom, 
with  moccasins  and  leggins  reaching  above  the  tunic.  Thus 
the  whole  person  was  covered,  and  the  costume,  especially 
when  the  tunic  was  confined  at  the  waist  with  a  belt,  as  was 
generally  the  case,  presented  a  neat  and  attractive  appear- 
ance. The  winter  costume  of  the  men  was  similar  to  that 
of  the  women,  generally  with  a  mantle  of  fur  or  robe  of 
buffalo  added;  but  in  summer  they  confined  themselves  to 
leggins  reaching  to  the  hips,  and  the  universal  breech-cloth, 
while  the  whole  upper  portion  of  the  body  remained  nude. 

The  Comanches  were  a  different  race  from  the  Pawnees, 
with  whom  they  were  almost  perpetually  at  war.  A  meet- 
ing of  rival  bands  of  the  two  nations,  on  the  plains  or  else- 
where, generally  resulted  in  a  battle;  and  the  vanquished 
were  either  annihilated  or  reserved  as  prisoners  for  the  tor- 

273 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

ture.  The  Comanches  belonged  to  the  great  Shoshone,  or 
Snake  family,  lived  in  skin  lodges  without  permanent  loca- 
tions for  their  villages,  and  roamed,  when  first  known,  over 
a  wide  region  of  country,  extending  from  the  waters  of  the 
Brazos  and  Colorado  on  the  west  to  the  Arkansas  and  Mis- 
souri on  the  east.  They  were  frequently  seen  also  in 
Mexico,  not  deigning  to  confine  themselves  to  any  particular 
section.  They  and  the  Pawnees  were  the  Tartars  of  Amer- 
ica, wandering  wherever  they  chose,  and  warring  with  all 
the  rest  of  mankind  that  happened  to  come  in  their  way. 
The  Comanches  called  themselves  "  live  people,"  and  claimed 
to  have  come  from  some  legendary  country  far  toward  the 
setting  sun.  They  worshiped  a  supreme  being  called  Niatpo 
(my  father),  who  was  the  progenitor  of  all  their  tribe.  All 
other  races  were  bastards  and  enemies.  Their  costume  was 
similar  to  that  of  the  Pawnees,  except  that  the  men  wore 
regular  pantaloons  made  of  dressed  leather,  which  extended 
to  the  waist.  In  addition  to  the  usual  weapons  of  bow  and 
spear,  the  Comanches  carried  a  long,  keen  knife,  made  of 
a  peculiar  white  flint,  which  they  obtained  from  their  kins- 
men, the  Shoshones.  The  blade  of  this  knife  was  so  sharp 
that  it  might  be  used  for  shaving. 

Such  were  the  people  with  whom  the  Spaniards  came  in 
contact  during  their  Western  journey.  But  as  they  ap- 
proached the  mountains  they  found  the  country  almost  en- 
tirely uninhabited ;  and  indeed,  on  the  Staked  Plain,  the  soil 
was  too  sterile  without  irrigation  to  afford  sustenance  for 

274 


EXPLORATIONS  OF  LUIS  ALVARADO  DE  MOSCOSO 

living  creatures.  Moscoso  now  halted  and  sent  out  explor- 
ing parties  to  ascertain  what  lay  beyond.  These  proceeded 
to  a  distance  of  one  hundred  miles,  and  on  their  return  re- 
ported that  the  prospects  grew  still  more  uninviting  as  they 
advanced.  There  was  nothing  before  them  on  which  so 
large  a  party  could  subsist,  and  they  regarded  it  as  extremely 
dangerous  to  proceed  any  further. 

Again  a  council  of  the  officers  was  called,  at  which  the 
whole  question  of  their  condition  and  what  was  best  to 
be  done,  was  discussed.  They  were  so  completely  lost  that 
they  knew  not  the  way  either  to  the  sea  or  Mexico;  and  it 
seemed  that  their  only  salvation  lay  in  retracing  their  steps 
to  the  Mississippi.  Once  more  the  cavaliers  declared  that 
they  would  perish  in  the  wilderness  rather  than  return  as 
ruined  and  disappointed  beggars  to  their  friends  in  Cuba  and 
Spain.  They  dreaded  death  less  than  poverty  and  the  dis- 
grace of  failure. 

In  the  end,  however,  Moscoso  decided  to  lead  the  army 
back  to  the  Mississippi,  and  there  taking  up  De  Soto's  plan, 
endeavor  to  reach  their  countrymen  in  Cuba  or  Mexico.  He 
felt  the  responsibility  which  he  sustained  as  commander  of 
the  expedition,  and  his  duty  to  the  men,  who  might  not  en- 
tertain the  same  exalted  views  as  the  cavaliers.  On  the 
morrow,  therefore,  they  turned  their  faces  toward  the  east, 
and  set  out  to  retrace  their  path  to  the  Great  River.  But 
now  it  became  necessary  to  move  rapidly,  in  order  that  the 
Indians  might  not  learn  of  their  retreat  in  time  to  waylay 

275 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

them  or  plan  ambuscades.  All  the  tribes  along  the  route 
were  hostile,  with  the  single  exception  of  the  Natchitoches, 
their  animosities  having  been  especially  aroused  by  recent 
wrongs  inflicted  by  the  white  men.  On  reaching  the  vicinity 
of  the  warlike  nations,  the  march  was  continued  through- 
out the  day  and  a  portion  of  the  night;  but  still  the  report 
of  their  coming  flew  ahead  of  them,  and  they  were  exposed 
to  almost  daily  skirmishes  and  ambuscades.  The  Indians 
waylaid  them  on  the  road,  harassed  the  rear  of  the  column, 
and  lurked  about  the  camp  at  night,  picking  off  stragglers 
wherever  they  could  be  found.  Not  satisfied  with  this,  they 
crawled  on  their  hands  and  knees,  in  the  gloom  of  the  dark- 
ness, until  they  came  within  reach  of  the  sentinels,  whom 
they  shot  down  with  arrows.  As  these  missiles  were  noise- 
less, several  Spaniards  were  killed  without  an  alarm  being 
given,  until  it  became  necessary  in  placing  the  guards  to  sta- 
tion two  men  close  together,  so  that  if  one  fell  the  other  could 
arouse  the  camp. 

With  all  their  celerity,  winter  set  in  before  the  refugees 
reached  the  Arkansas  river,  for  they  had  an  immense  dis- 
tance to  travel.  The  wonder  is  how  they  contrived  to  march 
so  far  in  so  short  a  time.  Now  the  rain  fell  in  torrents, 
so  cold  that  it  chilled  them  to  the  heart,  and  many  of  the 
streams  were  so  swollen  as  to  cover  the  bottoms.  All 
the  bayous  were  full;  frequently  they  had  no  dry  place  to 
camp,  and  the  infantry  got  such  rest  as  they  could  by  stand- 
ing all  night  in  mud  and  water  up  to  their  knees,  while  the 

276 


cavalrymen  slept  in  their  saddles.  To  add  to  the  horrors  of 
the  situation,  they  were  frequently  without  food  for  days  at 
a  time,  except  the  flesh  of  their  swine,  which  they  were  often 
obliged  to  eat  raw  because  they  could  not  kindle  fires. 
Strange  to  say,  they  had  held  fast  to  these  animals  through- 
out all  their  troubles,  driving  the  herd  before  them  in  their 
wanderings  up  and  down  the  continent.  For  other  kinds  of 
food  they  were  dependent  on  the  natives,  who  gave  it  grudg- 
ingly. They  suffered  also  for  lack  of  clothing,  their  only 
covering  for  months  having  been  a  sort  of  coarse  reed  or 
grass-cloth,  manufactured  by  hand,  which  was  so  rough  as 
to  be  exceedingly  irritating,  and  it  soon  wore  into  holes  and 
became  ragged  and  worthless.  Many  of  the  men  in  imita- 
tion of  the  savages,  wore  skins  of  animals,  thrown  over  their 
shoulders  and  belted  around  the  waist ;  but  these  only  reached 
to  the  thighs  or  the  knees,  leaving  their  legs  and  feet,  as  well 
as  their  arms,  bare.  Their  shoes  had  long  since  given  out ; 
some  had  replaced  them  with  moccasins,  but  the  greater  num- 
ber were  as  bare  of  foot  as  when  they  came  into  the  world. 

Their  sufferings  from  cold  and  the  rain  were  so  great  that 
no  pen  can  describe  what  they  endured.  Many  fell  ex- 
hausted and  died  by  the  way ;  their  wasted  bodies  were  given 
a  hasty  burial  in  the  woods,  with  no  covering  but  a  thin  layer 
of  earth.  Sometimes  even  this  last  tribute  of  comradeship 
had  to  be  omitted.  If  one  had  followed  their  path  a  few 
months  later  he  would  have  found  its  course  marked  with 

unburied  skeletons. 

277 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

At  length  the  shattered  expedition  came  to  the  Mississippi, 
a  short  distance  above  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas,  and  found 
shelter  in  an  Indian  town  more  by  the  complaisance  of  the 
savages  than  by  any  show  of  force  on  their  part.  By  this 
time  they  had  become  objects  of  pity  even  to  the  Indians,  for 
the  gallant  force  of  one  thousand  men  which  had  set  out 
with  such  high  hopes  less  than  four  years  before,  was  now 
reduced  to  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  weary  and  broken 
wrecks  of  humanity. 

The  name  of  the  village  where  they  had  at  last  found 
such  comforts  as  savage  life  afforded,  was,  in  the  Indian 
tongue,  Aminoya;  and  fortunately  the  place  was  already 
fortified,  for  the  Spaniards  were  too  wreak  to  endure  the 
effort  of  building  stockades.  For  several  days  before 
their  arrival,  reports  ^concerning  this  town  had  reached  them 
through  the  natives,  who  represented  it  as  a  place  where 
they  would  find  everything  that  heart  could  desire.  These 
reports,  by  feeding  the  flickering  flame  of  hope  in  their 
breasts,  kept  many  of  the  weary  pilgrims  alive;  but  now 
the  stimulus  of  effort  being  gone,  they  sank  into  a  state  of 
lethargy,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  days  nearly  half  a  hun- 
dred died.  The  others  gradually  regained  their  strength, 
and  with  a  sufficiency  of  food,  and  under  the  stimulating 
effects  of  hope,  their  courage  revived. 

Moscoso  now  resolved  to  build  seven  brigantines,  which 
he  estimated  would  carry  his  force  down  the  river  and  en- 
able them  to  make  their  way  through  the  inlets  along  the 

278 


EXPLORATIONS  OF  LUIS  ALVARADO  DE  MOSCOSO 

coast  to  the  nearest  town  in  Mexico;  or,  if  the  sea  were 
smooth,  they  might  even  cross  over  to  Cuba,  where  all  their 
troubles  would  be  at  an  end.  There  still  remained  one 
ship-carpenter  and  several  mechanics,  who  planned  the  ves- 
sels and  superintended  the  work,  while  the  labor  of  sawing 
the  lumber  and  building  the  boats  was  performed  mainly 
by  the  soldiers.  Every  one  did  what  he  could,  hoping  that 
their  little  fleet  might  be  ready  to  float  with  the  early 
summer  floods.  Two  large  sheds  were  constructed  on  the 
bank  of  the  river,  to  serve  as  shelter  for  the  boat-builders, 
in  order  that  they  might  not  be  delayed  by  the  inclemency 
of  the  weather.  Here,  with  the  aid  of  fires,  they  worked  in 
comfort  throughout  the  winter.  Every  scrap  of  iron  was 
gathered  up  and  made  into  nails;  the  harquebuses  and  the 
little  cannon,  being  no  longer  serviceable  by  reason  of  a 
lack  of  powder,  were  cut  in  pieces  and  hammered  into  use- 
ful implements.  The  cavaliers  contributed  their  spurs  and 
stirrups  to  the  common  fund;  and  even  the  shackles  of  the 
prisoners  were  stricken  from  their  limbs  and  wrought  into 
spikes  and  nails.  Only  the  spears  and  cross-bows  were  pre- 
served as  a  means  of  defense ;  for  these  were  necessary  to 
the  salvation  of  the  survivors. 

Ropes  and  cordage  were  twisted  from  grass  and  the 
tough  inner  bark  of  trees;  and  as  the  Indians  were  expert 
in  this  class  of  work,  and  expressed  a  willingness  to  lend 
their  assistance,  this  department  was  entrusted  mainly  to 
them.  Thus  through  the  ready  compliance  of  all,  the  work 

279 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

progressed  rapidly.  The  boats  "  were  well  made,  save  that 
the  planks  were  thin,  because  the  nails  were  short,  and  were 
not  pitched,  nor  had  any  decks  to  keep  the  water  from 
coming  in.  Instead  of  decks,  they  laid  planks,  whereon 
the  mariners  might  run  to  trim  their  sails,  and  the  people 
might  refresh  themselves  above  and  below." 

But  as  the  vessels  began  to  assume  shape  and  form,  they 
were  observed  by  the  hostile  cacique  on  the  opposite  shore, 
the  same  who  had  so  haughtily  rejected  the  overtures  of  De 
Soto;  and  he  readily  inferred  that  they  meant  no  good  for 
him.  With  such  vessels  the  white  men  could  sink  his  en- 
tire fleet  of  canoes  and  pirogues,  and  invade  his  country 
at  will.  Alarmed  at  the  prospect,  he  summoned  the  war- 
riors of  all  the  tribes  that  acknowledged  his  authority,  in- 
structing them  to  repaiF  to  his  capital  and  hold  themselves 
in  readiness  for  a  concerted  attack  on  the  foreigners.  A  day 
was  set  apart  for  a  general  massacre  of  the  Spaniards,  as 
well  as  the  Indians  who  had  given  them  shelter;  but  the 
latter,  by  means  of  their  scouts,  were  kept  informed  as  to  the 
intentions  of  the  hostile  cacique. 

A  sudden  and  unexpected  rise  in  the  river  inundated  the 
bottom  lands,  and  prevented  the  attack  at  the  appointed  time  ; 
but  it  did  not  hinder  the  Spaniards  in  their  work,  for  they 
had  taken  the  precaution  to  build  their  sheds  on  an  elevated 
piece  of  land.  They  now  pushed  the  work  more  vigorously 
than  ever,  hoping  to  complete  the  boats  before  the  river  re- 
tired again  within  its  banks.  But  in  this  they  were  disap- 

280 


EXPLORATIONS  OF  LUIS  ALVARADO  DE  MOSCOSO 

pointed.  The  water  gradually  fell,  until  within  about  a 
month  it  was  again  flowing  in  its  regular  channel.  Then 
the  cacique,  fearing  another  disappointment,  sent  bands  of 
his  warriors  to  annoy  the  workmen.  Some  of  these  being 
captured  by  the  Spaniards,  Moscoso  ordered  as  many  as 
thirty  to  have  their  hands  cut  off,  and  in  this  mutilated  state 
he  returned  them  to  their  ruler.  This  barbarity  only  in- 
creased the  fierce  resentment  of  the  cacique,  who  redoubled 
his  efforts  to  destroy  the  hated  pale-faces.  Almost  daily  at- 
tacks were  made  on  the  encampment,  in  which  the  Spaniards 
felt  the  loss  of  their  firearms,  and  especially  the  little  cannon, 
one  blast  of  which  would  have  driven  all  hostile  intentions 
out  of  the  minds  of  the  savages. 

The  work  was  pushed  so  rapidly  that  by  the  beginning 
of  June  the  boats  were  ready  for  launching;  but  this  was 
a  task  to  be  dreaded,  for  the  builders  had  not  prepared  reg- 
ular stocks  and  ways,  and  the  timbers  of  the  boats  being 
green,  they  proved  to  be  heavy  and  unwieldy.  But  Provi- 
dence seemed  to  favor  the  fugitives,  for  while  they  waited 
"  it  pleased  God  that  the  flood  came  up  to  the  town  to  seek 
the  brigantines,  from  whence  they  carried  them  by  water 
to  the  river."  This  second  flood  was  truly  a  godsend  to 
the  Spaniards,  for  without  it  their  brigantines  might  have 
lain  all  summer  in  the  sun  and  so  warped  out  of  shape  as 
to  have  been  useless.  All  the  remaining  hogs  were  now 
slaughtered  and  made  into  bacon,  which  was  stored  safely 
away  in  the  holds  of  the  vessels ;  each  receiving  its  due  pro- 

281 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

For  two  days  and  nights  these  maneuvers  were  kept  up, 
until  the  beleaguered  men  were  almost  exhausted  with 
constant  watching;  they  dared  not  land  or  attempt  to  seek 
rest,  and  thus  they  floated  on  down  the  river,  expecting  each 
moment  to  engage  in  fierce  conflict  with  the  red  men  of  the 
forest. 

About  noon  of  the  second  day  it  became  evident  that  the 
dread  moment  had  arrived;  for  then  it  was  that  the  hostile 
fleet  formed  into  three  divisions  and  rushed  to  the  attack. 
The  noise  of  the  yelling,  the  blowing  of  horns  and  conch- 
shells,  and  the  beating  of  drums,  became  louder  and  more 
frightful  than  ever.  A  pandemonium  of  hideous  sounds 
swept  over  the  face  of  the  waters  and  echoed  from  bank 
to  bank.  As  the  successive  divisions  came  within  range 
of  the  brigantines  they  discharged  clouds  of  arrows  against 
the  sides  of  the  boats,  many  of  which,  penetrating  the  bul- 
warks, or  finding  their  way  through  openings  and  crevices, 
wounded  a  number  of  Spaniards. 

The  fleet  having  passed  the  brigantines,  returned  and  re- 
newed the  attack  in  the  same  order  as  before;  and  this  was 
kept  up  throughout  the  afternoon  and  until  late  at  night. 
As  darkness  settled  over  the  scene,  its  weirdness  was  en- 
hanced by  dismal  war-songs  of  the  savages  and  the  flaming 
torches  of  cane  which  they  used  instead  of  battle-lanterns, 
whose  flickering  light  illuminated  the  bronzed  forms  of  the 
warriors  and  made  them  appear  like  so  many  demons  of  the 
lower  realms. 

284 


EXPLORATIONS  OF  LUIS  ALVARADO  DE  MOSCOSO 

At  length,  toward  midnight,  the  attacks  ceased,  and  si- 
knee  settled  down  on  the  river;  but  with  the  first  streaks 
of  dawn  the  conflict  was  renewed,  and  continued  as  before 
throughout  the  day  and  far  into  the  succeeding  night.  Thus 
the  seemingly  interminable  strife  was  maintained  for  several 
days  until  the  Spaniards  were  falling  from  exhaustion ;  every 
member  of  the  expedition  was  wounded  more  or  less  severely, 
and  twelve  were  dead. 

But  meanwhile  they  had  not  been  idle.  The  conflict  had 
been  sustained  with  that  spirit  of  dogged  resolution 
which  had  so  distinguished  them  from  the  start;  and  they 
had  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  a  number  of  the  savages 
had  been  killed  and  wounded.  Terrible  as  their  own  punish- 
ment had  been,  the  enemy  had  suffered  more  keenly  still; 
and  at  length  the  canoes  and  pirogues  withdrew  and  hov- 
ered at  a  distance  of  a  mile  or  more  in  the  rear. 

The  fugitives  now  had  an  opportunity  to  take  a  little  rest 
and  examine  more  minutely  into  the  state  and  extent  of 
their  losses.  The  horses  being  more  exposed  than  the  men, 
all  but  eight  were  dead;  several,  while  struggling  in  the 
agony  of  their  wounds,  had  broken  their  fastenings  and 
plunged  into  the  river. 

Meanwhile  the  brigantines  continued  to  float  with  the 
current,  until  they  came  opposite  an  Indian  town  of  con- 
siderable proportions.  Here  Moscoso  resolved  to  land  for 
the  purpose  of  securing  supplies,  and  a  detachment  of  one 
hundred  men,  with  the  eight  remaining  horses,  was  sent 

285 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

ashore.  But  no  sooner  had  the  boats  rounded-to  than  a 
detachment  of  Indians,  landing  from  the  canoes,  hurried 
through  the  woods  with  a  view  to  cutting  the  Spaniards 
off.  So  suddenly  was  this  movement  executed  that  the  men 
on  shore  barely  had  time  to  rush  back  to  the  boats,  when 
the  whole  host  of  savages  was  upon  them,  by  land  as  well 
as  by  water.  In  their  haste  to  push  the  brigantines  into  the 
river,  the  horses  were  abandoned,  and  instantly  slaughtered 
by  the  savages,  the  poor  beasts  crying  out  almost  with  hu- 
man agony  from  the  pain  of  their  wounds.  Seeing  the  last 
of  their  horses  fall,  the  Spaniards  wept  as  they  would  for 
the  loss  of  their  comrades. 

For  sixteen  days  the  Indians  followed  the  unfortunate 
refugees,  when  the  most  trying  and  disastrous  incident  of 
the  voyage  occurred.  Five  young  men,  inspired  by  a  spirit 
of  bravado,  and  without  the  knowledge  or  authority  of  the 
commander,  manned  a  pirogue  and  started  rapidly  in  the 
direction  of  the  savages.  Their  purpose  appears  to  have 
been  merely  to  taunt  and  defy  the  enemy,  with  the  hope' 
perhaps  of  bringing  them  to  closer  action  and  thus  ter- 
minating the  long  series  of  battles.  But  as  soon  as  Mos- 
coso  was  informed  of  their  escapade,  he  sent  three  pirogues, 
manned  with  fifty  men,  to  bring  them  back,  resolved  in  his 
own  mind  to  hang  the  leader  as  soon  as  he  should  come 
on  board.  But  the  young  men,  observing  the  pursuit,  and 
supposing  their  conduct  had  been  approved,  pressed  forward 
more  eagerly  than  ever  into  the  midst  of  the  hostile  fleet. 

286 


EXPLORATIONS  OF  LUIS  ALVARADO  DE  MOSCOSO 

The  Indians  now  fell  back  for  the  purpose  of  drawing  the 
Spaniards  further  away  from  the  brigantines ;  when,  having 
accomplished  their  purpose,  they  suddenly  closed  in  and  sur- 
rounded them,  capturing  or  killing  all  but  eight  of  the  two 
parties.  Thus  forty-seven  men  were  lost,  and  many  of  them 
no  doubt  afterward  subjected  to  torture  or  slavery,  as  the 
result  of  a  foolhardy  adventure. 

This,  however,  proved  to  be  the  last  of  the  battles  with 
the  Indians.  Apparently  satisfied  with  capturing  and  de- 
stroying so  large  a  number  they  disappeared  up  the  river, 
and  the  survivors  saw  them  no  more. 

The  little  fleet  now  continued  its  way  in  peace  to  the  open 
sea,  where  it  arrived  in  the  course  of  about  twenty  days  after 
the  incident  just  recorded.  Fearing  to  risk  the  danger  of 
crossing  the  Gulf  of  Cuba  in  such  flimsy  boats,  Moscoso 
directed  the  coures  of  the  fleet  westward,  and  by  keeping 
within  the  smooth  waters  of  the  numerous  bays  and  inlets, 
arrived  on  the  loth  of  September,  1543,  at  the  Spanish 
town  of  Panuco.  Here  the  expedition  remained  for 
twenty-five  days,  the  wanderers  receiving  every  attention 
and  kindness  at  the  hands  of  their  countrymen.  But  the 
soldiers,  finding  themselves  safe,  and  their  strength  recuper- 
ated, longed  to  resume  the  life  of  adventure  to  which  they 
had  become  accustomed;  and  they  proposed,  if  a  leader  could 
be  found,  to  return  to  Florida.  This  wild  scheme  was 
at  length  abandoned,  and  on  being  conveyed  to  the  City 
of  Mexico  by  orders  of  the  Viceroy,  most  of  the  men  enlisted 

287 


17 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

in  the  armies  of  Mexico  and  Peru,  hoping  in  those  countries 
to  retrieve  their  lost  fortunes,  and  at  the  same  time  continue 
the  adventurous  existence  which  by  long  usage  had  become 
as  second  nature  to  them.  Thus  were  the  veterans  of  De 
Soto  distributed  among  the  forces  of  their  countrymen,  and 
being  swallowed  up  in  the  masses  of  the  armies,  they  dis- 
appeared from  the  purview  of  history. 

Moscoso  himself  entered  the  service  of  the  Viceroy,  by 
whom  he  was  kindly  treated  and  advanced  to  a  number  of 
important  commands.  Accompanying  his  patron  to  Peru, 
in  1551,  he  there  distinguished  himself  in  several  campaigns 
against  the  Indians,  and  also  recovered  a  considerable  part 
of  the  fortune  which  he  had  lost  by  extravagant  living  in 
Spain. 


288 


DIVISION  XIV. 

Conditions  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  Preceding  the 
French  Occupation. 


FROM  1543,  the  date  of  the  departure  of  Moscoso  with  the 
remnant  of  De  Soto's  gallant  band,  until  1673,  when  Father 
Marquette  and  Louis  Joliet  appeared  on  the  scene,  it  is  not 
known  for  certain  that  any  white  man  saw  the  Mississippi 
river,  or  set  foot  on  the  soil  of  any  part  of  its  valley.  Here 
was  a  period  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  years,  during  which 
this  splendid  region  was  absolutely  neglected  by  all  the 
nations  of  Europe;  and  the  very  existence  of  the  greatest 
river  in  the  world  was  so  utterly  forgotten  that  when  the 
French  missionaries  of  upper  Canada  began  to  hear  of  it 
through  their  Indian  converts,  it  seemed  to  them  like  a  newly 
discovered  waterway.  All  knowledge  of  the  Great  River 
had  apparently  died  with  De  Soto.  The  French  Jesuits  seem 
to  have  known  absolutely  nothing  about  the  Spanish  explorer 
and  his  marvelous  discoveries;  although,  as  the  reader  will 
admit,  they  stand  foremost  among  all  similar  efforts  of  man- 
kind for  daring  achievement  and  wonderful  revelations  con- 
cerning previously  unknown  countries  and  peoples.  This  ig- 
norance may  be  due  largely  to  the  fact  that  printing  was  then 

289 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

in  the  armies  of  Mexico  and  Peru,  hoping  in  those  countries 
to  retrieve  their  lost  fortunes,  and  at  the  same  time  continue 
the  adventurous  existence  which  by  long  usage  had  become 
as  second  nature  to  them.  Thus  were  the  veterans  of  De 
Soto  distributed  among  the  forces  of  their  countrymen,  and 
being  swallowed  up  in  the  masses  of  the  armies,  they  dis- 
appeared from  the  purview  of  history. 

Moscoso  himself  entered  the  service  of  the  Viceroy,  by 
whom  he  was  kindly  treated  and  advanced  to  a  number  of 
important  commands.  Accompanying  his  patron  to  Peru, 
in  1551,  he  there  distinguished  himself  in  several  campaigns 
against  the  Indians,  and  also  recovered  a  considerable  part 
of  the  fortune  which  he  had  lost  by  extravagant  living  in 
Spain. 


288 


DIVISION  XIV. 

Conditions  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  Preceding  the 
French  Occupation. 


FROM  1543,  the  date  of  the  departure  of  Moscoso  with  the 
remnant  of  De  Soto's  gallant  band,  until  1673,  when  Father 
Marquette  and  Louis  Joliet  appeared  on  the  scene,  it  is  not 
known  for  certain  that  any  white  man  saw  the  Mississippi 
river,  or  set  foot  on  the  soil  of  any  part  of  its  valley.  Here 
was  a  period  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  years,  during  which 
this  splendid  region  was  absolutely  neglected  by  all  the 
nations  of  Europe;  and  the  very  existence  of  the  greatest 
river  in  the  world  was  so  utterly  forgotten  that  when  the 
French  missionaries  of  upper  Canada  began  to  hear  of  it 
through  their  Indian  converts,  it  seemed  to  them  like  a  newly 
discovered  waterway.  All  knowledge  of  the  Great  River 
had  apparently  died  with  De  Soto.  The  French  Jesuits  seem 
to  have  known  absolutely  nothing  about  the  Spanish  explorer 
and  his  marvelous  discoveries;  although,  as  the  reader  will 
admit,  they  stand  foremost  among  all  similar  efforts  of  man- 
kind for  daring  achievement  and  wonderful  revelations  con- 
cerning previously  unknown  countries  and  peoples.  This  ig- 
norance may  be  due  largely  to  the  fact  that  printing  was  then 

289 


MISSISSIPPI  V ALLEY  PRECEDING  FRENCH  OCCUPATION 

in  its  infancy ;  and  the  adventures  of  De  Soto  and  his  band 
of  heroes,  failing  to  be  committed  to  the  types,  were  soon 
forgotten,  or  cast  aside  as  unreliable  visions  of  dreamers. 
They  do  not  appear  to  have  made  one-half  the  impression 
even  on  the  Spanish  mind,  that  was  produced  by  the  far  less 
important  revelations  of  Cabeza  de  Vaca;  though  we  may 
account  for  this  in  some  measure  by  the  singular  idiosyn- 
crasy, that  a  large  proportion  of  the  claims  put  forth  by  the 
latter  being  pure  fiction,  the  human  mind  is  more  readily 
impressed  by  the  visionary  and  the  unreal  than  it  is  by  the 
solid  facts  of  history,  even  when  the  latter  surpass  the  former 
in  astonishing  features. 

Yet  all  this  does  not  fully  account  for  the  surprising 
oblivion  which  so  soon  enveloped  De  Soto  and  his  exploits, 
reenforced  as  they  were  by  the  contemporaneous  discoveries 
of  Coronado  and  others.  We  must  seek  another  reason  be- 
yond this.  The  nations  of  Europe  were  contending  for  the 
possession  of  other  regions  which  they  valued  more  highly, 
and  in  their  intense  application  to  the  leading  object  they 
seem  to  have  overlooked,  if  not  forgotten,  the  most  desirable 
portion  of  the  continent.  It  may  have  been  one  of  those 
singular  and  unaccountable  fantasies  which  impel  men  to 
struggle  for  little  things,  while  great  and  important  ones  are 
drifting  by  within  easy  reach. 

There  are  intimations  of  other  Spaniards  having  visited 
the  Mississippi  after  De  Soto,  and  before  the  coming  of  the 
French ;  but  they  are  like  the  shadowy  immaterialities  which, 

290 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

under  certain  favorable  conditions,  are  said  to  come  to  us 
from  the  land  of  the  future.  It  is  claimed,  for  instance,  that 
in  J553'  a  richly  laden  merchant  vessel  put  in  at  Havanah  on 
the  way  from  Vera  Cruz  to  Cadiz,  and  was  afterward 
wrecked  on  the  coast  of  Florida.  We  are  not  informed  as 
to  the  particular  part  of  the  coast  where  this  disaster  oc- 
curred; but  in  any  event,  some  members  of  the  crew,  in 
imitation  of  Cabeza  de  Vaca  and  his  three  companions,  made 
their  way  overland  to  Mexico;  and  necessarily,  in  passing 
over  this  route,  they  must  have  crossed  the  Mississippi. 
Indeed  there  are  references  to  De  Soto's  river,  as  it  was 
called,  in  the  accounts  which  the  castaways  gave  of  their 
adventures. 

These  men  represented  that  throughout  the  entire  course 
of  their  journey  they  were  engaged  in  almost  a  continuous 
battle  with  angry  natives ;  a  fact  which,  combined  with  other 
disasters  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  hinted  at,  but  of  which 
we  have  no  certain  account,  finally  induced  the  Spanish  king, 
in  1557,  to  order  the  reduction  of  Florida,  as  the  whole 
region  between  the  Alleghenies  and  the  unsubstantial  South 
Sea  of  the  indefinite  west  was  then  called.  But  the  effort 
to  carry  out  this  order  was  not  made  until  two  years  later, 
when  an  army  of  fifteen  hundred  infantry  and  about  two 
hundred  horsemen  was  fitted  out  in  Mexico,  and  placed  un- 
der command  of  Tristran  de  Luna,  with  orders  to  carry  out 
the  wishes  of  the  king.  Several  Dominican  friars  and  a 
number  of  women  accompanied  this  expedition,  for  it  was 

291 


MISSISSIPPI  V ALLEY  PRECEDING  FRENCH  OCCUPATION 

the  intention  to  colonize  the  country  as  well  as  subdue  it. 
Every  survivor  of  all  the  other  explorations  of  Florida  who 
could  be  found,  was  induced  to  lend  the  benefit  of  his  ex- 
perience to  the  present  undertaking,  so  that  it  finally  set  out 
under  auspices  that  seemed  favorable  enough  to  insure 
success. 

The  expedition  sailed  from  Vera  Cruz  in  July,  1559,  in 
thirteen  ships.  Although  these  were  first-class  war  vessels 
of  the  period,  they  were  in  fact  such  veritable  hulks  as  no 
modern  sailor  would  risk  his  life  in  for  a  single  hour;  and 
mainly  on  this  account  disaster  attended  the  venture  from 
the  time  a  landing  was  made  in  Florida.  The  fleet  arrived 
on  the  1 5th  of  August,  and  came  to  anchor  in  a  bay  which 
a  former  explorer  had  called  Filipina;  but  De  Luna  re- 
christened  it  Santa  Marie,  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  he  had 
reached  the  place  on  the  feast  of  the  Virgin.  This  harbor, 
wherever  it  may  have  been,  proved  to  be  an  unsafe  road- 
stead; for  six  days  after  the  ships  had  come  to  anchor  they 
were  all  wrecked  in  a  storm,  except  one,  which  was  driven 
ashore.  But  with  true  Spanish  perseverance,  de  Luna  col- 
lected such  of  his  forces  as  had  escaped  a  watery  grave,  and 
with  the  bedraggled  remnant  marched  boldly  into  the  in- 
terior of  the  country.  Coming  at  length  to  a  deserted  town 
called  Nanipacna,  which  had  been  wasted  by  De  Soto  during 
his  sweep  through  that  region,  de  Luna  encamped  there  for 
a  period ;  and  learning  of  the  rich  province  of  Cosa,  or  Coosa, 
a  familiar  sound  also  to  those  who  have  read  the  exploits  of 

292 


MISSISSIPPI  V ALLEY  PRECEDING  FRENCH  OCCUPATION 

the  great  adventurer  just  named,  he  resolved  to  send  an  ex- 
pedition there.  A  detachment  of  two  hundred  choice  lancers 
and  cavaliers  was  selected  for  this  purpose,  and  placed  under 
orders  of  the  sergeant-major  of  the  command;  who  was 
accompanied  by  two  of  the  Dominican  friars,  with  instruc- 
tions to  exercise  their  religious  office  for  the  conversion  of 
the  heathen. 

The  party  reached  the  capital  of  the  cacique  of  Cosa  in 
safety,  and  finding  him  engaged  in  a  war  with  a  tribe  called 
the  Napochies  (probably  the  Natchez),  they  entered  into 
an  offensive  and  defensive  alliance  with  him,  and  marched 
against  the  common  enemy.  The  territory  of  the  Napo- 
chies lay  on  the  Ochechiton,  meaning  "  great  water,"  which 
the  Spaniards  curiously  enough  took  to  be  the  sea.  This 
fact  alone  will  demonstrate  how  utterly  ignorant  they  were 
of  the  exploits  of  their  own  countrymen  which  had  taken 
place  in  that  very  region  only  sixteen  years  before. 

The  cacique  being  provided  with  a  fine  Arabian  steed, 
marched  at  the  head  of  his  troops  in  a  splendor  of  style 
never  equaled  by  any  of  his  predecessors,  with  fan-bearers 
and  a  negro  groom  to  lead  his  horse.  A  pitched  battle  was 
fought  with  the  Napochies,  in  which,  being  unable  to  with- 
stand the  charges  of  the  Spanish  cavaliers,  they  were  sorely 
defeated.  This  conflict  took  place  near  the  banks  of  the 
Ochechiton,  to  which  the  Spaniards  marched  immediately 
afterward.  On  reaching  the  river  they  were  so  impressed 
with  its  dignity,  that  they  bestowed  upon  it  the  name  of 

293 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

Rio  del  Espiritu  de  Santo,  and  for  the  second  time  took  pos- 
session of  the  country  watered  by  it  and  its  tributaries  in  the 
name  of  the  Spanish  king. 

We  have  no  further  account  of  the  exploits  of  this  de- 
tachment, but  it  is  known  that  they  returned  to  the  main 
command  under  de  Luna ;  which,  after  a  mutiny  and  various 
hardships  and  disasters,  was  discovered  on  the  coast  of 
Florida  by  a  Spanish  fleet  and  taken  to  Cuba.  It  seems 
that  de  Luna,  with  a  few  of  the  most  faithful  of  his  fol- 
lowers, subsequently  returned  to  Florida  and  continued  their 
explorations,  until  1562,  when  they  made  their  way  back 
to  Mexico. 

This  was  the  last  regular  effort  of  the  Spaniards  to  ex- 
plore the  Mississippi  Valley,  although  several  individuals 
of  that  nation,  starting  from  Mexico  and  other  points,  are 
supposed  to  have  wandered  as  far  as  the  river  itself.  In 
1580  several  Spanish  missionaries  penetrated  from  Mexico 
northward  into  the  present  territory  of  New  Mexico,  where 
they  were  killed  by  Indians;  but  reports  which  they  had 
sent  back  induced  others  to  come,  and  this  led  to  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  early  Spanish  colonies  in  that  region. 
Here,  as  elsewhere,  they  continually  heard  of  the  Rio  Grande 
del  Espiritu  Santo,  or  great  river  of  De  Soto;  and  some 
of  the  colonists  are  said  to  have  crossed  the  country  to  its 
western  banks,  though  there  is  no  definite  record  of  the  fact. 
In  the  various  efforts  that  were  made  to  penetrate  to  the 
Mississippi,  some  of  the  adventurers  mistook  the  Rio  Grande 

294 


MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY  PRECEDING  FRENCH  OCCUPATION 

of  Mexico  for  the  river  they  were  searching  for,  and  called 
it  "  the  grand  river  "  under  the  impression  that  it  was  the 
veritable  Father  of  Waters. 

Thus  time  went  on,  until  the  nations,  busy  with  their 
petty  wars  and  selfish  intrigues,  forgot  the  Mississippi  and 
the  great  valley  which  it  waters.  Meanwhile  also  those 
Indians  who  had  met  De  Soto  and  the  later  Spaniards,  lived 
their  allotted  space  of  time,  passed  on  to  the  Happy  Hunting 
Grounds,  and  were  succeeded 'by  others  who  knew  not  the 
pale  faces.  Tradition  is  but  a  poor  medium  for  the  trans- 
mission of  history,  and  as  new  generations  of  red  men  were 
born,  and  lived,  and  passed  over,  the  remarkable  appearance 
and  awful  cruelties  of  the  Spaniards  gradually  passed  out 
of  memory,  except  in  an  indistinct  and  far-away  manner, 
like  the  recollection  of  a  troubled  dream  or  nightmare.  The 
great  confederacies  that  flourished  in  the  time  of  De  Soto 
languished  and  died,  and  others  took  their  place;  and  in  all 
these  changes  and  mutations  there  seems  to  have  been  a 
gradual  decline  from  the  high  standard  of  semi-civilization 
which  the  Spaniards  of  the  i6th  century  had  found.  Only 
faint  intimations  of  it  remained  among  certain  tribes  and 
parts  of  tribes ;  and  these  appear  to  have  borrowed  it  from 
their  predecessors,  for  they  possessed  it  in  a  less  advanced 
stage,  and  inhabited  other  parts  of  the  valley.  The  glory 
of  the  great  nations  that  De  Soto  visited  and  described,  had 
departed  long  before  the  advent  of  the  French ;  and  in  their 
place  were  races  much  inferior  to  them.  This  was  especially 

295 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

true  of  the  Florida  and  other  Southern  Indians.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  period  of  French  occupancy  they  possessed 
a  mere  shadow  of  their  former  splendor,  and  were  unrecog- 
nizable by  the  accounts  which  the  Spaniards  had  given  of 
them.  Whether  this  was  the  natural  decline  to  be  expected 
of  barbarous  nations,  or  whether  De  Soto  struck  them  a  blow 
from  which  they  were  not  able  to  recover,  are  questions 
which  cannot  now  be  determined.  But  in  this  connection 
there  are  two  important  features  which  ought  not  to  be  lost 
sight  of ;  there  was  a  large  infusion  of  Spanish  blood  among 
those  Indians; — and  the  Spaniards  transmitted  to  them  a 
number  of  diseases  inherited  from  the  lascivious  course  of 
life  which  had  prevailed  for  ages  in  Europe.  An  intermix- 
ture of  white  blood  with  that  of  the  dark  or  black  races  has 
invariably  produced.a  hybrid  species,  inferior  to  either  of  the 
originals ;  and  this  no  doubt  had  much  to  do  with  the  decline 
of  the  Southern  tribes.  Disease  and  licentiousness  had 
weakened  and  debased  them,  and  rendered  them  incompetent 
to  maintain  that  high  standard  which  they  had  achieved  by 
their  own  efforts  before  the  coming  of  the  Spaniards. 

The  Natchez  were  the  only  people  of  the  Mississippi  Val- 
ley who  seem  to  have  retained  their  ancient  strength  and 
splendor;  probably  because  the  Spaniards,  except  in  the 
brief  turmoil  with  de  Luna,  had  but  little  to  do  with  them. 
They  were  mound-builders,  and  differed  radically  from  all 
the  other  tribes.  Their  language  showed  no  etymological 
connection  with  any  of  the  other  Indian  dialects ;  they  spoke 

296 


TEMPLE  OF  FIRE-WORSHIPING  NATCHEZ  INDLJNS. 

E  most  remarkable  Indian  nation  in  America  were  the  Natchez,  a  people  who 
once  very  powerful,  even  three  hundred  years  ago,  are  now  extinct. '  The> 
were  mound  builders,  and  claimed  to  have  descended  from  the  ancient  inhabitants 
of  Central  America,  but  there  are  evidences  that  they  came  from  the  northwest 
They  had  a  religion  that  was  a  mixture  of  fire-worship,  sun-worship,  and  sabian- 
ism.  Their  temples  at  Natchez  were  set  upon  a  mound  which  was  surrounded  bv 
a  strong  wall  pierced  by  a  single  gate  which  was  guarded  by  priests.  Within  the 
large  temple  a  perpetual  fire  was  maintained,  and  in  the  others  were  the  bones  of 
what  they  called  their'  Suns,  a  designation  they  gave  to  the  supreme  ruler  of  the 
hiearchy. 


At  the 

y  they  possessed 
ere  uim 
id  given  of 

,j>ccted 

r.stions 
connect 

A<\  V\\  XH  TO  T  \v/,  W/iA<\  V  V\?,3*  V  )  V 


^'TT 

no     ^ 

, 

. 

:.  gfepfift  Vl9ff  1 


"-""' 
orf  arfl's-ow  xiwbo  -jrli  ni  IHTR  . 

•Hitio  nloi  jmmqiie  •)/(>  o)  9-^3  ^<fi  notwn^iv 

,  . 

:ent 

pi  Val- 

,-th  and 

the 

•vith  them. 

!y  from  all 

?cal 

••-.>ke 


MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY  PRECEDING  FRENCH  OCCUPATION 

a  tongue  that  was  radically  different  from  all  the  other 
tribes  of  the  continent,  except  the  Tensas,  to  whom  they 
were  related  by  blood  and  religion. 

According  to  their  traditions,  ihe  Natchez  came  from  the 
southwest,  in  consequence  of  wars  with  the  ancient  inhabit- 
ants of  a  distant  country  in  that  direction,  presumably  Yu- 
catan. They  first  made  a  stand  on  the  seacoast,  where  a 
part  of  the  tribe  remained;  but  the  greater  portion  pushed 
their  way  inland,  until  they  established  themselves  on  both 
sides  of  the  Mississippi  river,  with  their  principal  town  on 
the  present  site  of  the  city  of  Natchez.  Here  they  were 
found  by  the  Spaniards.  Their  religion  was  sabianism,  asso- 
ciated with  sun-worship,  which  seems  to  carry  them  back  to 
some  remote  affinity  with  the  ancient  Persians  and  Chal- 
deans. They  recognized  the  unity  of  God,  but  worshiped 
intelligences  which  they  supposed  resided  in  the  sun.  Mor- 
ally they  were  exceedingly  dissolute,  but  of  a  mild  and 
friendly  disposition,  preferring  peace  to  war,  though  never 
hesitating  to  resent  any  encroachment  on  their  rights.  By 
their  traditions  they  were  the  original  people  of  the  world, 
having  descended  from  the  first  man  and  woman,  who  came 
down  from  the  sun,  evidently  for  the  purpose  of  creating  the 
Natchez  race.  They  were  governed  by  a  great  Sun,  a  lineal 
descendant,  through  the  female  line,  of  the  first  members 
of  the  human  race.  The  great  Sun  was  assisted  by  lesser 
suns  or  chiefs,  who  acted  as  his  advisers  and  carried  out 
his  orders;  and  they  were  also  commanders  of  the  fighting 

299 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

men  in  time  of  war.  Their  first  temple  was  built  by  their 
original  progenitors  on  their  arrival  from  the  sun,  who  at 
the  same  time  kindled  the  perpetual  fire  within  its  precincts, 
which  had  never  been  allowed  to  expire.  The  temple  at 
Natchez  was  built  on  a  mound  eight  feet  high,  and  was  in 
the  form  of  a  modern  house  with  a  steep  roof.  It  contained 
the  bones  of  all  the  suns,  and  the  perpetual  fire  of  three  logs 
was  kept  burning  in  the  center,  by  priests  especially  anointed 
for  that  office. 

The  cabin,  or  palace,  of  the  ruling  Sun  occupied  another 
mound  near  the  temple,  its  form  and  construction  being 
similar  to  the  latter,  except  that  its  roof  was  oval.  The 
power  of  the  chief  Sun  was  despotic,  even  to  the  extent  of 
life  and  death;  and  so  also  was  that  of  his  sisters  and  all 
his  immediate  relatives,  especially  those  of  the  female  line. 
He  could  have  as  many  wives  as  he  chose,  and  in  order  that 
the  race  might  be  maintained  pure,  they  were  selected,  to 
a  large  extent,  from  among  his  sisters  and  other  near  rel- 
atives. No  one  was  permitted  to  approach  the  chief  Sun 
except  by  special  permission,  and  with  numerous  ceremonials 
and  marks  of  reverence.  In  all  things  he  was  regarded  as 
the  direct  representative  of  the  deity,  and  was  honored  as 
such. 

Next  below  the  suns  was  an  order  of  nobles,  similar  to 
the  nobility  of  Europe  at  the  present  time.  They  were  ex- 
empt from  labor  and  all  the  burdens  of  government,  being 
supported  by  the  contributions  of  the  people.  The  latter 

300 


MISSISSIPPI  V ALLEY  PRECEDING  FRENCH  OCCUPATION 

were  called  Michemichequipy,  a  barbarous  and  almost  un- 
pronounceable name,  which  the  French  wisely  transformed 
into  Puants,  or  "  stinking  "  Indians.  But  they  were  by  no 
means  reduced  to  the  degraded  position  of  the  common 
people  of  Europe.  Except  for  the  fact  that  their  chief  Sun 
held  the  prerogative  of  life  and  death  over  them,  which  was 
exercised  only  in  accordance  with  their  laws  and  regulations, 
they  were  free  men.  In  the  enjoyment  of  this  freedom, 
together  with  the  benefits  of  a  mild  climate  and  an  abund- 
ance of  healthy  and  nutritious  food,  they  had  developed 
physically  until  they  were  as  fine  specimens  of  manhood 
as  any  nation  could  boast. 

Their  weapons  were  the  ordinary  implements  of  savage 
warfare  and  the  chase,  consisting  of  bows  and  flint-pointed 
arrows  and  spears.  They  did  not  possess  the  keen-bladed 
flint-knives  that  were  such  dreaded  instruments  in  the  hands 
of  some  of  the  Western  tribes ;  nor  had  they  any  implements 
or  vessels  of  any  kind,  except  a  few  earthen  plates  and 
pots. 

Their  summer  costume  consisted  of  tunic  and  drawers, 
composed  of  a  very  fine,  soft  and  beautiful  cloth,  woven  by 
hand  from  flax  and  the  inner  bark  of  the  mulberry  tree. 
In  winter  they  wore  robes  of  dressed  buffalo  skin,  or  bril- 
liant cloaks  of  feathers,  braided  with  porcupine  quills ;  their 
tonsure  being  ornamented  with  turkey  and  eagles'  feathers. 
Instead  of  shaving  the  extra  hair  with  flint-knives,  which 
they  did  not  possess,  they  followed  the  custom  of  some  of 

301 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

the  northern  tribes,  and  burnt  it  off  with  blazing  fagots  or 
red-hot  stones.  They  had  numerous  feasts,  and  were  a 
light-hearted,  jovial  people;  enjoying  the  good  things  of 
life,  and  enduring  the  bad  as  necessary  evils  which  they 
could  not  escape. 

On  the  death  of  a  chief  Sun  a  number  of  his  wives  and 
relatives  were  slain,  in  order  that  they  might  accompany 
and  minister  to  him  in  the  spirit  world;  but  this  ceremony, 
instead  of  being  regarded  by  the  victims  as  a  sacrifice  or 
a  hardship,  was  on  the  contrary  looked  upon  as  a  pleasant 
journey  into  new  and  beautiful  countries,  accompanied  by 
a  beloved  friend.  Their  dead  were  wrapped  in  robes  of 
cloth  or  skins,  and  deposited  on  raised  platforms  until  the 
flesh  was  consumed,  when  the  bones  were  buried.  They 
manifested  the  same  respect  and  veneration  for  their  dead 
which  was  so  marked  a  characteristic  of  nearly  all  the  tribes 
of  the  continent,  and  was  due  to  their  belief  in  the  personal 
immortality  of  the  individual.  Their  friends  were  not 
dead,  but  gone  before. 

There  was  a  faint  trace  of  Votanism  among  these  people, 
and  de  la  Vega  claimed  to  have  seen  a  copy  of  the  Book 
of  Votan,  written  in  hieroglyphics,  among  the  Indians  of 
New  Mexico,  which  he  translated.  According  to  this  story, 
Votan,  who  was  a  demi-god,  came  from  over  the  sea  to 
America,  and  finding  it  already  peopled,  established  a  gov- 
ernment in  Xibalba,  which  is  supposed  to  have  been  located 
in  Yucatan,  or  one  of  the  adjacent  Central  American  coun- 

302 


MISSISSIPPI  V ALLEY  PRECEDING  FRENCH  OCCUPATION 

tries.  There  he  established  the  religion  of  Maya,  which 
still  exists  among  the  Mayas  Indians  of  that  region;  and 
thence  the  people  professing  this  faith  spread  northward 
until  they  covered  the  Mexican  plateau,  and  even  invaded 
the  present  limits  of  the  United  States.  This  accounts  for 
the  legendary  migration  of  the  Natchez,  who  traveled  farther 
than  any  of  the  other  migrating  Votans.  The  connection 
of  this  tribe  with  the  Mayas  of  Yucatan,  if  there  be  any  such 
connection,  is  traced  mainly  by  the  similarity  of  some  of 
their  religious  beliefs  and  domestic  customs,  and  the  fact 
that  they  were  a  different  people  from  any  of  the  other  tribes 
among  whom  they  lived.  Their  traditions  also  pointed 
strongly  in  the  same  direction. 

The  Mayas  were  classed  among  the  most  civilized  of  the 
American  nations.  When  first  discovered  they  had  an  al- 
phabet and  a  literature,  and  were  employed  as  agriculturists 
and  manufacturers.  They  made  sailing  vessels,  by  means 
of  which  they  carried  on  a  considerable  commerce  with  their 
neighboring  tribes  along  the  coast,  using  a  regular  medium 
of  exchange,  composed  of  shells,  pieces  of  copper,  and  cacao 
beans.  They  erected  temples  and  other  edifices  of  cut  stone, 
which,  owing  to  their  size  and  profuse  ornamentation  with 
carved  and  colored  figures  and  bassi  releivi,  are  still  regarded 
as  the  most  remarkable  architectural  relics  of  the  western 
hemisphere.  Their  books  were  in  manuscript  form,  written 
in  long  strips  of  prepared  inner  bark,  the  lines  reading  from 
right  to  left,  or  from  bottom  to  top  of  the  page.  The  sheets 

303 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

were  then  folded  and  bound  together,  so  that  in  some  in- 
stances they  formed  volumes  of  considerable  size. 

They  had  divided  the  year  into  eighteen  months,  each  of 
twenty  days,  with  a  period  of  five  days  and  six  hours  over. 
Their  religion  was  of  the  most  sanguinary  character,  and 
this  is  perhaps  the  strongest  link  in  the  chain  of  evidence  that 
connects  them  with  the  Natchez  Indians.  On  the  death  of 
a  chief,  a  number  of  his  relatives  and  domestics  were  slain 
as  companions  for  his  spiritual  journey,  the  executioners 
cutting  out  their  hearts  while  still  alive,  and  afterwards 
flaying  their  bodies.  Some  were  shot  to  death  with  arrows, 
and  others  were  thrown  into  a  sacred  pit,  where  they  were 
killed  by  the  fall  or  died  from  the  bites  of  venomous  serpents. 
All  the  devilish  ingenuity  of  priestcraft  seems  to  have  been 
concentrated  in  the>  effort  to  surround  death  with  every 
possible  horror;  but  whether  out  of  pure  malevolence,  or  in 
order  that  life  on  the  other  side  might  appear  all  the  more 
beautiful  by  contrast  with  the  experiences  through  which 
they  had  just  passed,  cannot  be  determined.  Their  religion 
required  frequent  bathings ;  and,  like  the  Jews,  they  always 
washed  their  hands  and  mouths  after  eating.  'They  had 
drums  and  wind  instruments,  with  which  they  kept  time  to 
their  religious  dances,  some  of  which  were  so  obscene  as  to 
be  indescribable;  yet  their  women  were  highly  chaste  and 
modest.  Like  other  savages,  they  painted  the  face  and  body, 
tattooed  their  persons,  and  both  sexes  wore  earrings.  The 
women  filed  their  teeth,  wore  pieces  of  amber  in  the  cartilage 

304 


MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY  PRECEDING  FRENCH  OCCUPATION 

of  the  nose,  and  flattened  the  heads  of  their  infants.  Both 
sexes  were  addicted  to  a  drink  resembling  mead,  which  was 
rendered  intoxicating  by  the  infusion  of  a  root.  As  a  result, 
intemperance  prevailed  among  them  to  an  alarming  extent. 
In  war  their  arrows  were  tipped  with  obsidian,  or  the  teeth 
of  fish ;  but  their  spear-heads  were  made  of  flint,  like  those 
of  other  savage  tribes.  They  also  carried  large  copper 
hatchets,  with  keen  blades,  which  constituted  their  most  for- 
midable weapon.  Their  bodies  were  protected  by  bucklers 
and  an  armor  composed  of  quilted  cotton  filled  with  salt, 
which  was  impervious  to  the  ordinary  force  of  an  arrow. 

We  have  noticed  this  people  at  some  length,  because  they 
are  supposed  to  be  the  stock  from  which  our  own  Natchez 
Indians  sprang;  and  as  this  narrative  progresses  it  will  be 
observed  that  there  were  many  things  in  common  between 
the  two. 

Having  thus  outlined  the  conditions  as  they  existed  in  the 
Mississippi  Valley  at  the  beginning  of  the  French  occupation, 
we  will  now  consider  the  explorations  of  Louis  Joliet  and 
Father  Marquette,  who  were  the  first  representatives  of  that 
nation  to  sail  upon  the  waters  of  the  Great  River. 


305 


DIVISION  XV. 
French  Explorations  in  the  Mississippi  Valley. 


THE  Spaniards  having  apparently  abandoned  the  valley 
of  the  Mississippi  to  its  original  inhabitants,  the  French  were 
the  next  civilized  nation  to  appear  in  that  region  as  explorers 
and  claimants  of  the  soil.  The  work  of  exploration  was 
inaugurated  by  the  Jesuit  missionaries,  who  in  their  zeal  for 
the  conversion  of  the  heathen  displayed  a  spirit  of  devoted 
heroism  unsurpassed  in  the  history  of  the  world.  Volun- 
tarily submitting  their  lives  and  their  persons  to  the  keeping 
of  God,  they  ventured  alone  thousands  of  miles  into  the 
wilderness  to  preach  the  gospel  to  savages,  who  on  numerous 
occasions  manifested  their  appreciation  of  the  sacrifice  by 
using  them  as  targets  for  their  tomahawks  and  arrows. 
Many  of  these  devoted  men  died  the  death  of  martyrs,  and 
some  were  subjected  to  the  crudest  tortures;  but  they  per- 
severed in  the  face  of  dangers  and  sufferings  that  would 
seemingly  have  appalled  the  stoutest  of  hearts,  and  in  the  end 
their  efforts  were  crowned  with  a  success  more  than  equal 
to  their  expectations. 

Before  the  close  of  the  first  half  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, there  were  rumors  in  New  France,  as  Canada  was  then 

306 


FRENCH  EXPLORATIONS  IN   THE  MISSISSIPPI    VALLEY 

called,  of  a  great  river  in  the  far  West,  which  was  supposed 
to  flow  into  the  China  Sea.  These  rumors  stimulated  inter- 
est in  the  subject,  and  advanced  thinkers  of  the  age  began 
to  believe  that  the  long-sought-for  way  to  the  Orient  was 
about  to  be  discovered. 

As  early  as  1639,  Jean  Nicolet,  a  French  explorer  and 
trader  living  at  Quebec,  made  his  way  in  the  pursuit  of  his 
calling  beyond  the  territory  of  the  Hurons,  into  the  country 
of  the  Winnebagoes,  "  a  people  called  so  because  they  came 
from  a  distant  sea,  but  whom  some  French  erroneously  called 
Puants."  The  Winnebagoes  spoke  a  language  different 
from  any  of  the  dialects  that  Nicolet  was  familiar  with,  but 
entering  into  friendly  relations  with  them,  and  guided  by 
some  of  their  warriors,  he  ascended  Fox  river  to  its  portage, 
where  he  embarked  on  another  river  which  he  was  told  in 
three  days  would  carry  him  to  the  sea.  But  this  was  a  mis- 
apprehension of  language.  The  meaning  of  the  Indian  term 
was  "  Great  Water,"  or  "  Father  of  Waters,"  by  one  or  both 
of  which  appellations  the  Mississippi  was  known  to  all  the 
tribes.  Nicolet  had  reached  the  Wisconsin,  through  Fox 
river  and  its  portage,  and  in  three  days  might  have  floated  to 
the  Mississippi.  For  some  reason  he  did  not  pursue  the 
investigation ;  but  the  stories  which  he  repeated  on  returning 
to  Quebec,  about  having  been  on  a  river  that  would  have 
carried  him  to  the  sea  in  three  days,  led  the  Jesuit  fathers  to 
believe  that  they  were  about  to  discover  the  long-sought 
passage  to  India  and  the  East.  With  their  usual  persevw- 

3°7 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

ance  they  did  not  allow  the  subject  to  rest.  The  hope  of 
reaching  the  mystic  South  Sea  by  so  short  a  route,  and  carry- 
ing the  gospel  to  nations  more  remote  than  any  they  had  yet 
seen,  stimulated  their  courage  and  hopeful  expectations  to 
the  highest  degree.  Arrangements  were  made  with  the 
Algonquins,  who  were  familiar  with  the  region  extending 
indefinitely  toward  the  setting  sun,  to  invite  certain  of  the 
fathers  to  accompany  them  on  their  next  annual  hunt,  "  to 
those  men  of  the  other  sea."  But  unexpected  delays  oc- 
curred. 

In  1641  a  mission  was  established  among  the  Chippewas 
at  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  by  Fathers  Jogues  and  Raymbout,  who 
there  heard  the  rumors  repeated  concerning  the  great  west- 
ern river  and  the  people  who  dwelt  upon  its  banks.  This 
increased  their  eagerness  to  push  the  gospel  in  that  direction ; 
but  the  intervention  of  war  again  delayed  their  purpose. 
The  Five  Nations,  supplied  with  firearms  and  ammunition 
by  the  Dutch  of  New  York,  began  the  war  of  extermina- 
tion against  the  Hurons  and  their  allied  tribes,  already 
greatly  weakened  by  pestilence  and  disease.  This  for  the 
time  being  put  an  end  to  all  intercourse  between  the  French 
at  Quebec  and  the  missions  of  the  upper  lakes;  yet  for  the 
preservation  of  life  it  was  necessary  that  the  latter  should 
have  supplies.  Accordingly,  in  1642,  Father  Jogues  and  a 
French  attendant  named  Rene  Goupil,  accompanied  by  a 
number  of  Hurons,  set  out  on  horseback  for  the  lower  settle- 
ments. On  the  way  they  were  attacked  by  the  Mohawks, 

308 


FRENCH  EXPLORATIONS  IN   THE  MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY 

one  of  the  allied  tribes,  who  killed  nearly  all  the  party  and 
carried  the  rest,  including  the  missionary  and  his  attendant, 
prisoners  to  their  towns  in  upper  New  York.  There,  after 
being  compelled  to  witness  the  execution  of  most  of  their 
Indian  companions,  the  two  white  men  were  tortured  and 
mutilated  and  afterward  reduced  to  a  rude  state  of  slavery 
among  their  savage  captors.  Filled  with  missionary  zeal, 
they  sought  to  impart  the  truths  of  Christianity  to  their  mas- 
ters; but  the  effort  cost  Goupil  his  life,  and  Jogues  was  with 
difficulty  rescued  by  the  Dutch  and  sent  to  Europe. 

Another  faithful  missionary,  Father  Bressani,  anticipating 
the  dreadful  straits  to  which  the  Hurons  were  reduced,  set 
out  from  Quebec  to  go  to  their  relief.  But  he  was  captured 
on  the  way  by  the  Mohawks,  and,  like  Jogues,  suffered  tor- 
ture and  slavery  at  their  hands.  His  condition  at  length 
excited  the  pity  of  the  Dutch,  who,  securing  his  release,  fur- 
nished him  with  transportation  to  France.  Yet  the  extra- 
ordinary sufferings  of  these  devoted  men  could  not  deter 
them  from  reengaging  in  the  work  which  lay  so  near  their 
hearts;  and  in  a  short  time  we  find  them  both  once  more  in 
Canada,  proclaiming  the  gospel  with  the  same  zeal  which 
had  previously  distinguished  them. 

A  temporary  peace  afforded  the  Hurons  and  their  allies  a 
measure  of  respite,  and  again  the  work  of  the  missionaries 
began  to  take  root.  Five  churches  were  established  in  as 
many  towns,  together  with  one  for  the  Algonquins  who 
dwelt  among  the  Hurons.  The  troubles  through  which  they 

309 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

had  passed  seemed  to  incline  these  people  more  than  ever  to 
receive  the  teachings  of  the  gospel,  and  the  missionaries  were 
greatly  encouraged  with  the  outlook  for  the  future.  But  the 
worst  had  not  come. 

In  July,  1648,  an  overwhelming  army  of  the  Iroquois 
attacked  the  Huron  town  of  Teananstayae,  and  the  issue  was 
not  long  in  doubt.  While  the  warriors  manned  the  palisades, 
Father  Daniel  encouraged  them  with  the  consolations  of 
religion  and  administered  the  sacrament  of  baptism  to  the 
dying.  When  resistance  had  ceased  and  the  last  of  the 
braves  had  fallen,  he  repaired  to  the  chapel,  which  was  filled 
to  suffocation  with  terrified  women  and  children.  Barricad- 
ing the  front  door,  he  bade  them  fly  by  the  rear  entrance, 
while  he  awaited  death  at  the  hands  of  the  Iroquois.  In- 
furiated by  his  passive  resistance,  they  filled  his  body 
with  arrows  and  flung  it  into  the  midst  of  his  burning 
church. 

Many  of  the  Hurons  now  abandoned  their  towns  and 
sought  refuge  on  secluded  islands  of  the  lakes,  while  others, 
fleeing  westward,  placed  themselves  under  the  protection  of 
the  Sioux,  whose  territory  bordered  on  the  Mississippi. 
This  soon  proved  to  be  one  of  the  impelling  causes  which  led 
to  the  discovery  and  exploration  of  that  river,  as  we  shall 
see. 

For  a  time  the  peace  of  desolation  reigned  in  the  Huron 
country;  but  in  March,  1649,  an  army  of  a  thousand  Iro- 
quois stormed  one  of  the  few  remaining  villages,  called  by 

310 


FRENCH  EXPLORATIONS  IN   THE  MISSISSIPPI   VALLEY 

the  missionaries  St.  Ignatius.  So  complete  and  ruthless 
was  the  massacre  that  only  three  of  the  inhabitants  escaped. 
These  made  their  way  to  the  neighboring  town  of  St.  Louis, 
where  the  missionaries  Brebeuf  and  Lalemant  were  stationed. 
As  soon  as  it  was  known  that  the  Iroquois  were  coming,  the 
Hurons,  as  with  one  voice,  begged  the  fathers  to  escape ;  but 
turning  a  deaf  ear  to  the  appeal,  they  remained;  and,  like 
the  now  martyred  Daniel,  exercised  their  ministrations  to 
the  last.  The  first  assault  of  the  enemy  was  repulsed;  but 
this  temporary  check  only  increased  their  fury.  Returning 
to  the  attack,  the  palisades  were  carried  and  the  cabins  set  on 
fire ;  when  an  indiscriminate  slaughter  ensued. 

The  missionaries  were  taken  while  ministering  to  the 
wounded  and  the  dying,  and,  bound  and  guarded,  were  con- 
veyed with  other  captives  reserved  for  the  torture,  to  the 
ruined  village  of  St.  Ignatius.  Here  a  scene  of  frightful 
brutality  was  enacted.  The  fathers  being  bound  to  the  stake, 
Brebeuf  s  hands  were  cut  off,  and  Lalemant's  body  was 
filled  with  burning  awls  and  iron  barbs;  red-hot  hatchets 
were  inserted  under  their  arms  and  between  their  legs,  and 
around  Brebeuf's  neck  a  collar  of  these  weapons  was  placed. 
In  the  midst  of  his  torments  he  spoke  to  them  kindly,  admon- 
ishing them  against  their  evil  deeds  and  pointing  the  way  to 
life.  But  when  they  derided  his  words  and  scoffed  at  his 
religion,  he  called  down  God's  vengeance  upon  them  for 
their  wickedness  and  hatred  of  Christianity.  Then  they  cut 
off  his  nose  and  thrust  a  firebrand  into  his  mouth ;  they  sliced 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

off  portions  of  his  flesh  and  ate  them  in  his  presence,  and  in 
mockery  of  baptism  they  poured  boiling  water  on  his  head. 
Finally,  they  hacked  off  his  feet,  tore  open  his  chest,  and 
devoured  his  heart. 

Lalemant  was  forced  to  endure  even  more  than  his  com- 
panion, for  his  tortures  were  prolonged  throughout  the  night. 
After  being  subjected  to  many  of  the  same  cruelties  that  were 
inflicted  upon  his  fellow-sufferer,  they  encased  his  body  in 
bark  and  set  it  on  fire,  and  tore  out  his  eyes  and  forced  live 
coals  into  the  sockets.  At  dawn,  one  of  the  savages,  more 
merciful  than  the  rest,  put  an  end  to  his  sufferings  by  cleav- 
ing his  head  with  a  hatchet. 

Such  were  the  horrors  to  which  these  martyrs  were  sub- 
jected; but  though  the  manner  of  their  death  was  made 
known  to  their  fellow-rnissionaries  in  all  its  frightful  details, 
the  occasion  no  sooner  arose  than  others  offered  themselves 
willing  subjects  for  a  similar  sacrifice.  How  great  must 
their  faith  have  been ! 

For  the  time  being  the  Huron  missions  were  overthrown, 
and  that  once  powerful  nation  was  scattered  to  distant  parts 
of  the  continent.  One  tribe  or  family  submitted  to  their 
enemies,  and  were  incorporated  into  the  confederacy  of  the 
Iroquois.  Others  followed  the  first  fugitives  to  the  distant 
shores  of  Lake  Superior,  and  afterward  wandering  back  to 
the  vicinity  of  Lake  Michigan,  were  found  there  by  the 
missionaries  and  given  a  home  at  Mackinac,  where  they  were 
subsequently  incorporated  into  the  tribe  of  the  Wyandottes. 

312 


FRENCH  EXPLORATIONS  IN  THE  MISSISSIPPI   VALLEY 

Several  bands  took  refuge  with  tribes  of  kindred  races, 
and  being  incorporated  with  them  were  lost  as  a  separate 
people.  In  June,  1650,  the  missionaries  abandoned  the 
Huron  country,  and  descending  to  Quebec  with  a  number  of 
their  converts,  installed  them  on  the  Isle  of  Orleans;  but 
even  there  the  hatred  of  the  Mohawks  found  them,  and  they 
were  swept  off  to  a  mere  remnant.  The  survivors  were 
then  given  a  home  at  Lorette,  on  the  St.  Charles  river,  about 
eight  or  nine  miles  from  Quebec,  where  their  descendants  are 
still  to  be  found.  But  they  speak  the  French  language,  and 
have  so  fully  adopted  the  customs  of  that  polite  nation  that 
they  no  longer  retain  any  of  the  characteristics  of  their  or- 
iginal race. 

Thus  perished  a  great  nation,  for  at  the  beginning  of  the 
war  with  the  Iroquois  the  Hurons  numbered  a  population 
of  more  than  thirty  thousand  souls.  So  ended  also,  in  sor- 
row and  affliction,  the  Huron  missions  as  such,  for  although 
they  were  subsequently  resumed,  it  was  not  under  their  old 
name,  nor  were  the  efforts  of  the  missionaries  confined  to  the 
same  people.  The  beginning  of  these  missions  dated  back 
to  1615,  and  during  their  existence  they  had  employed 
twenty-seven  fathers,  seven  of  whom  had  sacrificed  their 
lives  in  the  work. 

Temporary  peace  followed  the  dispersion  of  the  Hurons, 
but  the  bloodthirsty  disposition  of  the  Mohawks,  the  "  she 
bears  "  of  the  Iroquois  confederacy  as  they  called  themselves, 
prevented  its  long  endurance.  Outbreaks  continued  from 

313 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

time  to  time,  until  at  last  the  French  government,  weary  of 
savage  treachery  and  duplicity,  struck  a  blow  in  the  heart  of 
the  Iroquois  country  that  brought  a  permanent  peace.  These 
matters  will  be  treated  in  their  proper  connection. 

Meanwhile  missions  had  been  established  among  the  Ot- 
tawas  of  Lake  Superior  as  early  as  1641,  and  had  continued 
to  exist  in  a  feeble  way,  although  cut  off  for  a  long  time 
from  direct  communication  with  the  French  of  lower  Can- 
ada. In  1656,  after  the  abandonment  of  the  Huron  mis- 
sions, a  delegation  of  Christian  Ottawas  succeeded  in  making 
their  way  to  Quebec,  and  on  their  return  they  were  accom- 
panied by  the  missionaries  Garreau  and  Menard.  Near 
Montreal  the  little  flotilla  was  ambushed  by  a  party  of 
Mohawks,  and  Garreau  was  killed.  But  neither  his  death 
nor  the  fearful  martyfdom  of  his  brethren  could  deter  others. 
They  courted  the  fate  which  brought  a  crown  as  its  reward. 
"  Should  we  die  at  last  in  misery,"  wrote  Menard,  with  pro- 
phetic vision,  "  how  great  our  happiness  will  be."  Men 
endowed  with  such  a  spirit  are  unconquerable.  Although 
defeated  in  his  first  effort  to  reach  the  Ottawas,  Menard  per- 
severed and  finally  succeeded,  four  years  after  the  murder 
of  his  former  companion.  Supplied  with  Ottawa  guides, 
who,  like  their  nation,  proved  to  be  both  cowardly  and 
treacherous,  he  set  out  in  1660  for  the  distant  wilderness 
bordering  the  southern  shores  of  Lake  Superior.  On  the 
way  his  brutal  guides  abused  and  deserted  him,  but  pur- 
suing his  course  alone,  he  finally  reached  his  destination  in 


FRENCH  EXPLORATIONS  IN   THE  MISSISSIPPI   VALLEY 

safety,  having  sustained  life  the  greater  part  of  the  way  with 
nuts  and  roots.  Finding  himself  in  the  midst  of  the  people 
among  whom  his  future  lot  was  to  be  cast,  he  wrote  to  his 
superior :  "  Here  I  had  the  consolation  of  saying  mass, 
which  repaid  me  with  usury  for  all  my  past  hardships.  Here 
I  began  a  mission,  composed  of  a  flying  church  of  Christian 
Indians  from  the  neighborhood  of  the  settlements,  and  of 
such  as  God's  mercy  has  gathered  in  here." 

Though  not  having  yet  reached  the  decline  of  life,  being 
then  in  his  fifty-seventh  year,  Menard  had  endured  so  much 
in  his  previous  labors  among  the  Hurons  and  the  Iroquois, 
that  he  was  now  an  old  man  and  illy  prepared  for  the  hard- 
ships which  he  was  destined  to  encounter.  At  first  an  old 
chief  received  him  into  his  wigwam,  but  finding  his  presence 
an  obstacle  to  the  abuse  which  he  was  accustomed  to  inflict 
upon  the  squaws  of  his  household,  he  cast  him  out  into  the 
snow.  Then  the  father  built  himself  a  miserable  shelter  of 
fir  branches,  in  which  he  spent  the  winter,  laboring  mean- 
while to  instruct  those  by  whom  he  was  surrounded. 
During  the  following  summer  a  band  of  fugitive  Hurons, 
who  had  found  a  refuge  on  Black  river,  in  central  Wiscon- 
sin, learning  of  the  presence  of  the  father  among  the  Ot- 
tawas,  sent  for  him  to  come  and  minister  to  them.  Eager 
to  comply  with  this  friendly  call,  he  set  out  alone  in  August 
to  traverse  the  wilderness  between  the  lake  and  the  river. 
He  was  never  seen  alive  again.  How  or  when  he  died  is 
not  known  with  certainty,  but  it  is  supposed  that  he  was 

315 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY. 

killed  by  a  Kickapoo  warrior  soon  after  leaving  the  Ottawa 
towns. 

Menard  was  succeeded  by  Father  Claude  Allouez,  who 
established  a  mission  among  the  Ottawas  on  Chegoimegon 
Bay  in  October,  1665,  which  he  named  La  Pointe  du  St. 
Esprit.  There  he  heard  of  the  "  great  river,"  and  wrote 
that  "  it  empties,  as  far  as  I  can  conjecture,  into  the  sea  by 
Virginia."  He  likewise  wrote  that  he  had  heard  of  the 
tribes  of  the  Ilimouek  and  the  Nadouessiouek,  who  "  live 
on  the  great  river  called  the  Messipi,"  thus  for  the  first  time 
giving  the  name  by  which  the  river  has  ever  since  been 
known.  Other  explorers,  at  various  times,  bestowed  dif- 
ferent titles  upon  it,  but  none  of  them  supplanted  the  real 
name,  Mississippi. 

Meanwhile,  other  rumors  of  the  "  great  river "  had 
reached  the  French  from  various  sources.  In  1658  a  daring 
Frenchman  named  Groseilles  passed  the  winter  alone  on  the 
shores  of  Huron  lake,  and  later  visited  the  country  of  the 
Sioux.  There  he  met  some  of  the  fugitive  Hurons,  and 
after  conversing  with  them  he  was  able  to  write  concerning 
the  Mississippi,  "  It  is  said  to  be  a  beautiful  river,  large, 
broad,  and  deep,  which  would  bear  comparison,  they  say, 
with  our  St.  Lawrence."  On  its  banks  lived  at  that  time 
the  Illinois,  who  had  fled  from  the  vengeance  of  the  Iroquois ; 
but  they  soon  returned  to  their  own  country,  watered  by 
the  river  which  still  bears  their  name. 

From  other  quarters  also  the  fathers  heard  of  the  "  great 

316 


FRENCH  EXPLORATIONS  IN  THE  MISSISSIPPI   Y ALLEY 

river."  Those  who  labored  in  New  York  saw  war-parties 
of  Iroquois  set  out  against  the  Ontoagannha,  whose  towns 
"  lay  on  a  beautiful  river,  which  leads  to  the  great  lake,  as 
they  call  the  sea,  where  they  trade  with  Europeans  who 
pray  to  God,  as  we  do,  and  have  rosaries  and  bells  to  call 
men  to  prayers."  This  was  the  Ohio,  and  the  fathers  sup- 
posed the  reference  to  the  sea  meant  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
or  of  California.  But  this  was  another  misconception  of 
terms,  for  the  Indians  referred  to  the  "  great  river,"  as  the 
Mississippi  was  known  to  all  the  tribes. 


317 


DIVISION  XVI. 

Explorations  of  Marquette  and  Joliet. 


WE  now  approach  the  era  of  Marquette,  when  what  may 
be  called  the  practical  discovery  of  the  Mississippi  was  to  be 
made.  Father  Dablon  having  become  superior  of  all  the 
Ottawa  missions,  it  was  resolved  to  establish  one  also  among 
the  Illinois,  and  father  Jacquez  Marquette  was  selected  for 
that  post.  He  had  already  established  a  mission  at  Sault 
Ste.  Marie,  in  1668,  and  the  following  year  he  was  sent  to  take 
the  place  of  Allouez  among  the  Ottawas  and  Hurons  at  La- 
pointe.  There  he  bega'n  the  study  of  the  language  of  the 
Illinois,  preparatory  to  the  beginning  of  his  labors  among 
that  people. 

It  seems  that  about  this  time  he  heard  of  another  great 
river  flowing  from  the  west,  which  he  thought  might  afford 
the  desired  waterway  to  the  South  Sea.  It  was  the  Mis- 
souri which  thus,  in  a  shadowy  way,  began  to  come  into 
notice;  and  the  father  resolved  to  visit  it  at  the  first  oppor- 
tunity. Concerning  this  intended  voyage  he  wrote :  "  If 
the  Indians  who  promise  to  make  me  a  canoe  do  not  break 
their  word,  we  shall  go  into  this  river  as  soon  as  we  can, 
with  a  Frenchman  and  this  young  man  given  me,  who  knows 


EXPLORATIONS  OF  MARQUETTE  AND  JOL1ET 

some  of  these  languages,  and  has  a  readiness  for  learning 
others;  we  shall  visit  the  nations  that  inhabit  them,  in  order 
to  open  the  passage  to  so  many  of  our  fathers,  who  have 
long  awaited  this  happiness.  This  discovery  will  give  us 
a  complete  knowledge  of  the  southern  or  western  sea." 

The  young  man  "  given  him,"  to  whom  Marquette  refers, 
was  an  intelligent  Indian  youth,  who  had  been  assigned 
to  teach  the  father  the  language  of  the  Illinois  and  kindred 
tribes,  as  he  himself  intimates.  It  will  be  a  pleasure  to  fol- 
low Marquette  in  all  his  wanderings,  for  he  was  a  close  ob- 
server, a  beautiful  and  entertaining  writer,  and  one  of  the 
most  gentle  and  lovable  of  men. 

The  way  was  now  being  opened  for  him,  and  his  com- 
panion, the  Sieur  Joliet.  In  November,  1669,  Father  Al- 
louez  visited  Green  Bay  and  preached  there  during  the  win- 
ter to  members  of  various  tribes,  who  had  collected  in  a  vil- 
lage at  that  place.  Among  them  were  Sacs,  Foxes,  Winne- 
bagoes,  and  Pottawatomies,  all  of  whom  had  seen  or  heard 
of  the  Mississippi,  and  from  these  Indians  the  father  gained 
much  valuable  information  concerning  the  mighty  river 
which  was  now  coming  into  such  prominent  notice.  On 
the  1 6th  of  April,  1670,  Allouez  embarked  in  his  canoe  on 
Fox  river,  which  he  ascended  to  its  junction  with  Lake  Win- 
nebago.  Crossing  that  body  of  water,  he  came  to  a  river 
which  had  its  outlet  "  from  a  wild-oat  lake,"  but  he  did  not 
at  this  time  enter  upon  its  waters.  His  present  object  was 
a  band  of  Fox  Indians,  some  of  whose  members  had  been 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

carried  away  by  the  Iroquois.  On  reaching  their  camp  he 
found  them  greatly  dejected  and  weeping,  according  to  the 
custom  of  their  people;  but  after  consoling  them  with  words 
of  kindness  and  teaching  them  some  of  the  first  principles 
of  Christianity,  they  became  more  cheerful;  and  the  father 
left  them  with  the  assurance  that  he  had  planted  the  good 
seed  in  soil  that  would  not  be  utterly  fruitless.  In  his  return 
he  again  sought  the  river  that  flowed  "  from  the  wild-oat 
lake,"  and  thus  became  the  discoverer  of  the  Wisconsin.  "  It 
was  a  beautiful  river/'  he  wrote,  "  running  southwest  with- 
out any  rapid It  leads  to  the  great  river  named  Mes- 

si-sipi,  which  is  only  six  days'  sail  from  here." 

Now  the  way  was  open  to  the  Mississippi,  and  thence  to 
the  sea;  but  the  time  for  the  great  discovery  was  not  quite 
ripe.  The  peace  with  the  L'oquois,  from  which  so  much 
had  been  expected,  was  suddenly  disturbed  by  the  sound  of 
savage  tumult  in  the  distant  West.  The  Ottawas,  and  those 
Hurons  who  had  found  a  refuge  in  the  territory  of  the  wild 
Sioux,  had  provoked  the  latter  until  they  resolved  to  de- 
clare war;  but  before  doing  so  they  sent  back  the  religious 
pictures  which  had  been  given  them  by  the  Catholic  fathers. 
These,  they  said,  were  good  enough  totems  in  time  of  peace, 
but  when  they  went  on  the  war-path  they  preferred  a  free 
hand  with  their  own  ancient  gods.  The  Christian  God  was 
too  mild  to  answer  their  bloody  purposes. 

The  Ottawas,  cowards  by  nature,  and  the  Hurons,  sub- 
dued and  humbled  by  their  late  experiences  with  the  Iro- 

320 


EXPLORATIONS  OF  MARQUETTE  AND  JOLIET 

quois,  now  fled  before  the  peril  which  beset  them  from  the 
west.  The  Sioux  swept  with  fire  and  steel  up  to  the  very 
margin  of  Lake  Michigan;  and  the  Illinois  mission  being 
now  an  impossibility,  Marquette  followed  the  fugitive  Hurons 
to  Mackinaw.  But  his  passion  to  discover  the  Mississippi  and 
the  more  distant  Missouri,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  the  peo- 
ple living  there,  did  not  depart  from  him.  He  continued 
his  study  of  the  languages  that  would  benefit  him  in  his 
anticipated  travels,  and  awaited  the  coming  of  the  opportune 
time. 

Mean  while  Father  Dablon  published  a  new  account  of  the 
Mississippi,  giving  information  which  will  be  highly  in- 
teresting at  this  distance  of  time.  Said  he,  "  To  the  south 
flows  the  great  river,  which  they  call  the  Mississippi,  which 
can  have  its  mouth  only  in  the  Florida  sea,  more  than  four 
hundred  leagues  from  here."  Then  he  adds,  "  I  deem  it 
proper  to  set  down  here  all  we  have  learnt  of  it.  It  seems 
to  encircle  all  our  lakes,  rising  in  the  north  and  running  to 
the  south,  till  it  empties  in  a  sea,  which  we  take  to  be  the 
Red  Sea,  or  that  of  Florida;  as  we  have  no  knowledge  of 
any  great  rivers  in  those  parts  which  empty  into  those  two 
seas.  Some  Indians  assure  us  that  this  river  is  so  beauti- 
ful that  more  than  three  hundred  leagues  from  its  mouth 
it  is  larger  than  that  which  flows  by  Quebec,  as  they  make 
it  more  than  a  league  wide.  They  say,  moreover,  that  all 
this  vast  extent  of  country  is  nothing  but  prairies,  without 
trees  or  woods,  which  obliges  the  inhabitants  of  those  parts 
19 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

to  use  turf  or  sun-dried  dung  for  fuel,  till  you  come  about 
twenty  leagues  from  the  sea.  Here  the  forests  begin  to 
appear  again.  Some  warriors  of  this  country  ( Mascoutins) , 
who  say  that  they  have  descended  that  far,  assure  us  that 
they  saw  men  like  the  French,  who  were  splitting  trees  with 
long  knives,  some  of  whom  had  their  house  on  the  water; 
thus  they  explained  their  meaning,  speaking  of  sawed  planks 
and  ships.  They  say  besides,  that  all  along  this  great  river 
are  various  towns  of  different  nations,  languages,  and  cus- 
toms, who  all  make  war  on  each  other;  some  are  situated 
on  the  river  side,  but  more  of  them  inland,  continuing  thus 
up  to  the  nation  of  the  Nadouessi,  who  are  scattered  ovet 
more  than  a  hundred  leagues  of  country." 

The  Red  Sea  referred  to  by  the  father  in  this  extract, 
was  the  gulf  of  California,  which  on  account  of  its  imag- 
inary resemblance  to  the  Red  Sea  of  the  Scriptures,  was 
so  called  by  the  missionaries.  The  Mascoutin  Indians  were 
closely  allied  to  the  Foxes  and  Kickapoos.  They  are  some- 
times called  the  Fire  Indians,  because  that  was  the  meaning 
of  their  tribal  name  in  the  Huron  tongue;  though  it  is  con- 
tended, on  the  other  hand,  that  the  real  meaning  of  Mas- 
coutin is  "  Prairie,"  and  that  these  savages  were  so  called 
because  their  home  was  on  the  prairies  of  Illinois  where  fre- 
quent fires  occurred  when  the  grass  was  dry  in  autumn. 
The  latter  is  probably  the  true  explanation.  The  Mascou- 
tins were  at  first  friendly  with  the  French,  but  in  1712  they 
turned  against  them,  taking  sides  with  their  brethren,  the 

322 


EXPLORATIONS  OF  MARQUETTE  AND  JOLIET 

Foxes  and  Kickapoos;  and  thereafter  they  remained  at  en- 
mity with  all  white  men,  including  the  English  and  the 
Americans,  until  they  were  absorbed  by  other  tribes  about 
the  beginning  of  the  iQth  century. 

Father  Marquette  now  held  himself  in  readiness  for  the 
first  opportunity  that  might  arise  for  him  to  carry  out  his 
cherished  desire  to  explore  the  Mississippi,  and  likewise  its 
great  tributary  from  the  west.  The  subject  had  been  brought 
in  a  forceful  manner  to  the  attention  of  the  French  govern- 
ment, and  on  the  4th  of  June,  1672,  the  great  minister,  Col- 
bert, wrote  M.  Talon,  then  governor  of  New  France :  "  As 
after  the  increase  of  the  colony,  there  is  nothing  more  im- 
portant for  the  colony  than  the  discovery  of  a  passage  to 
the  south  sea,  his  majesty  wishes  you  to  give  it  your  atten- 
tion." Thus  came  the  order  that  led  quickly  to  the  consum- 
mation of  Marquette' s  hopes.  M.  Talon  was  on  the  point 
of  sailing  for  home,  having  been  superseded  by  the  celebrated 
Count  de  Frontenac;  but  he  remained  long  enough  to  put 
the  king's  wishes  in  the  way  of  fulfillment. 

As  leader  of  the  expedition,  he  recommended  one  Louis 
Joliet,  a  man  of  experience,  courage  and  liberal  talents; 
and  introducing  him  to  Frontenac,  the  latter  gave  him  the 
appointment,  recommending  him  at  the  same  time  to  the 
home  government  in  this  explicit  manner :  "  I  have  deemed 
it  expedient  for  the  service  to  send  the  sieur  Joliet  to  dis- 
cover the  south  sea  by  the  Mascoutins  country,  and  the  great 
river  Mississippi,  which  is  believed  to  empty  in  the  California 

323 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

sea.  He  is  a  man  of  experience  in  this  kind  of  discovery, 
and  has  already  been  near  the  great  river,  of  which  he  prom- 
ises to  see  the  mouth." 

So  little  is  known  of  Joliet  that  there  is  even  some  doubt 
concerning  the  correct  orthography  of  his  name,  and  for  this 
reason  it  occurs  in  various  forms  in  different  histories.  He 
was  the  son  of  a  wagon-maker,  and  was  born  in  Canada  in 
1645,  so  that  at  the  time  of  his  appointment  to  explore  the 
Mississippi  he  was  only  twenty-seven  years  of  age.  In  his 
early  youth  he  had  been  a  promising  pupil  in  the  Jesuits' 
school  at  Quebec,  and  at  one  time  contemplated  becoming 
a  priest  of  that  order.  But  his  adventurous  spirit  demanded 
a  more  active  life,  and  while  still  a  mere  boy  we  find  him 
on  the  distant  frontier,  hunting  and  trading  with  the  In- 
dians. Three  years  before  his  introduction  to  Frontenac 
he  accompanied  Nicholas  Perrot  to  the  Lake  Superior  re- 
gion, in  quest  of  copper,  and  though  they  did  not  succeed 
in  the  object  of  their  search,  the  experience  gained  soon  be- 
came highly  serviceable  to  the  younger  member  of  the  ex- 
pedition. While  attending  the  Jesuits'  school  Joliet  had 
manifested  a  decided  talent  for  the  science  of  hydrography, 
which  was  now  about  to  stand  him  in  good  stead;  and  after 
his  return  it  gained  for  him  enduring  fame  as  a  maker  of 
maps  and  charts.  In  other  respects  there  is  not  much  to 
be  said  of  this  excellent  man,  who  for  some  reason  seems 
to  have  fallen  under  the  displeasure  of  the  French  officials 
after  his  return  from  the  Mississippi  exploration;  and  he 

324 


EXPLORATIONS  OF  MARQUETTE  AND  fOLIET 

had  therefore  but  little  opportunity  of  further  distinguishing 
himself.  We  are  indebted  to  the  incidental  references  of 
Father  Marquette  for  the  leading  characteristics  of  his 
younger  companion. 

Marquette  was  a  native  of  Laon,  France,  where  he  was 
born  in  1637.  He  was  consequently  still  a  young  man,  in 
his  36th  year,  when  in  1673  he  joined  Joliet  in  their  famous 
journey  down  the  Mississippi.  The  previous  year  he  had 
written  his  superior,  Father  Dablon,  concerning  his  work  at 
Mackinaw,  which  had  been  very  successful :  "  I  am  ready, 
however,  to  leave  it  in  the  hands  of  another  missionary,  to 
go  on  your  order  to  seek  new  nations  toward  the  south  sea, 
who  are  still  unknown  to  us,  and  to  teach  them  of  our  great 
God  whom  they  have  hitherto  not  known."  For  years  he 
had  longed  to  make  this  journey,  and  to  find  the  people 
who  might  be  benefited  by  his  teachings;  so  that  when  he 
received  notice  of  his  selection  as  the  spiritual  companion 
of  M.  Joliet,  his  soul  was  filled  with  the  joy  which  the  an- 
nouncement brought  him. 

Father  Marquette  had  endeared  himself  to  the  savages 
about  the  lakes  in  a  most  remarkable  manner,  both  by  means 
of  his  gentle  disposition  and  his  kind  offices  to  them  in 
sickness  and  sorrow.  So  benevolent  was  his  character  that 
his  very  presence  was  like  a  benediction.  He  never  came 
near  any  man  without  doing  him  good;  and  the  savage 
people  among  whom  he  had  labored  so  long  regarded  him 
more  as  a  god  than  a  man.  Such  was  their  veneration  for 

325 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

him  that  for  years  after  his  death,  when  overtaken  by  storms 
in  their  frail  barks  on  the  lakes,  it  was  said  they  "  called  upon 
the  name  of  Marquette,  and  the  winds  ceased  and  the  waves 
were  still." 

Yet  in  spite  of  the  love  and  respect  which  he  inspired  in 
the  breasts  of  all,  Marquette  was  the  most  modest  of  men. 
Indeed,  so  great  was  his  diffidence  that  he  rarely  spoke  of 
himself  in  the  first  person,  and  in  all  cases  where  credit  was 
due  for  anything  with  which  he  was  connected,  he  preferred 
some  one  else.  Among  all  the  festivals  of  his  church,  the 
one  dearest  to  his  heart  was  that  of  the  Immaculate  Con- 
ception; imagine  then  his  joy  when  Joliet  arrived  at  Macki- 
naw on  that  particular  day,  and  notified  him  of  his  appoint- 
ment to  accompany  the  expedition. 

The  winter  was  spent  in  preparation  and  study.  Nothing 
was  omitted  that  might  in  the  remotest  manner  aid  in  the 
success  of  the  great  undertaking.  Chance  was  not  allowed 
to  play  any  part  in  their  calculations,  but  so  far  as  possible 
everything  was  reduced  to  the  proportions  of  an  exact  sci- 
ence. The  services  of  every  Indian  wanderer,  who  by  re- 
port had  been  in  the  vicinity  of  the  "  great  river,"  or  knew 
anything  about  it  or  the  people  living  on  or  near  its  banks, 
was  called  into  requisition;  and  in  the  midst  of  this  tawny 
group,  by  the  flickering  light  of  pine-knots,  the  first  rude  map 
of  the  Mississippi  was  drawn.  It  was  traced  from  informa- 
tion given  by  the  Indians,  who,  kneeling  in  groups  around 
the  white  explorers,  eagerly  watched  the  outlining  of  the 

326 


MAP  FROM  MARSLVETTVS  JOURNAL 


USl 


!sa5ippi  ,0  ,  c         Michigan 

character  of  eh«  cartographer',  ar,  at  the     1  *          c»n»'<l«.nr  ,h«  iraperfec, 
poMe,«»  a  value  '         map  'S  an  "«"""  <" 


one  eve,  m,de  „, 


<">'• 


-ears  after  his  death,  when  overtaken  by  storms 

,s  ots  the  lakes,  k  was  said  they  "  called  upon 

aattte  of  Matqi«t^.  ami  tfcg  w*r«l*  ceased,  and  the  waves 


*p*t«  of  the  love  and  res£**rt  which  he  inspired  in 
£  aH,  Marquette  was  the  roost  modest  of  men. 

arely  spoke 

*OR<  was 

'in    w,th  which  be  v  -preferred 


^e!se.     Among  al;  .,  :h   tu. 


C.. 

-i  ^•I>*l|^<l9'1^  f4«ff  *^1  ^O  'ioi)>0boiq- 

•  :   i!  iiM  a^cJ  (iioil  fioijibaqxa  eirl  )o  abcrn  Jioqsi  '  u 

r^i^qrrtr^frt'^niiolv  •        •           BaiHJjhA  3dt  to  fiM/otn  3fi)  M  '/  M!'  nv/<>l-. 

i..'ts  ,?flp  Jfl^jQ^flE                   .it  ,501!)  arfl  )B  Jit  R'laffqEi^otiKa  »ril  In  -i3J3GiBri3 

-'ft  3d)    ^ntSf)    ?li    Kil  <!E    Il97>  <K    (JllET    «ji  1O)    16313    x'Sn'')93:>x3    SIllsV  K  «3" 

.yjilsv  i 

omitted  that  migfe!  in  the  rern- 

allowed 

far  as  possible 
of  an  exact  sci- 

encc-      '  -vho  by  re- 

port had  be,  ..  ^new 

its  ban' 
of  this  taw 

iemap 
lorma- 

ijroups  around 
ning  of  the 


the  v 


EXPLORATIONS  OF  MARQUETTE  AND  JOLIET 

rivers  and  their  tributaries  on  a  piece  of  cloth,  with  crayons 
of  charcoal.  What  a  scene  was  that  to  inspire  the  brush 
of  a  painter ! 

And  now,  while  we  await  the  development  of  their  plans 
and  the  coming  of  spring,  let  us  take  another  glance  at  the 
beautiful  and  benevolent  character  of  Father  Marquette,  as 
outlined  in  his  correspondence  and  other  writings.  In  a 
letter  to  one  of  his  fellow  missionaries  concerning  a  partic- 
ular nation  of  savages,  he  says :  "  The  nation  of  the  Ou- 
taouaks  Sinagaux  is  far  from  the  kingdom  of  God,  being 
above  all  other  nations  addicted  to  lewdness,  sacrifices,  and 
juggleries.  They  ridicule  the  prayer,  and  will  scarcely  hear 
us  speak  of  Christianity.  They  are  proud  and  undeveloped, 
and  I  think  that  so  little  can  be  done  with  this  tribe,  that 
I  have  not  baptized  healthy  infants  who  seem  likely  to  live, 
watching  only  for  such  as  are  sick." 

Of  another  tribe  at  the  mission  he  wrote :  "  The  Indians 
of  the  Kinouche  tribe  declare  openly  that  it  is  not  yet  time. 
There  are,  however,  two  men  among  them  formerly  bap- 
tized. One  now  rather  old,  is  looked  upon  as  a  kind 
of  miracle  among  the  Indians,  having  always  refused 
to  marry,  persisting  in  this  resolution  in  spite  of  all  that  had 
been  said.  He  has  suffered  much  even  from  his  relatives, 
but  he  is  as  little  affected  by  this  as  by  the  loss  of  all  the 
goods  which  he  brought  last  year  from  the  settlement,  not 
having  enough  to  cover  him.  These  are  hard  trials  for 

329 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

Indians,  who  generally  seek  only  to  possess  much  in  this 
world." 

The  other  convert,  a  young  man,  seems  to  have  possessed 
a  most  excellent  character.  Among  the  Indians  it  was  es- 
teemed a  great  wrong,  as  well  as  a  disgrace,  not  to  marry; 
and  if  any  young  man  manifested  such  a  disposition  every 
art  of  the  opposite  sex  was  brought  to  bear  in  their  efforts 
to  force  him  into  matrimony.  In  this  connection  ceremo- 
nies were  performed  so  frightfully  lewd  in  character  that 
the  bare  mention  of  them  shocks  every  sense  of  decency. 
It  was  one  of  these  diabolical  scenes  that  the  father  refers 
to  in  the  following  extract :  "  The  Indians,  extremely  at- 
tached to  revelries,  had  resolved  that  a  certain  number  of 
young  women  should  prostitute  themselves,  each  to  choose 
such  partner  as  she  liked.  No  one  in  these  cases  ever  re- 
fuses, as  the  lives  of  men  are  supposed  to  depend  on  it. 
This  young  Christian  was  called;  on  entering  the  cabin  he 
saw  the  orgies  which  were  about  to  begin,  and  feigning  ill- 
ness immediately  left,  and  though  they  called  him  back,  he 
refused  to  go.  His  confession  was  as  prudent  as  it  could 
be,  and  I  wonder  that  an  Indian  could  live  so  innocently, 
and  so  nobly  profess  himself  a  Christian." 

It  was  hard  to  keep  the  Christian  Indians  always  in  the 
line  of  duty.  If  one  fell  sick  he  generally  endeavored  to 
make  sure  of  the  hereafter  by  taking  both  roads ;  so  that  no 
matter  what  happened,  he  would  find  a  good  place  on  the 
other  side.  Hence,  in  their  extremity,  they  nearly  always 

330 


EXPLORATIONS  OF  MARQUETTE  AND  JOLIET 

called  in  the  medicine-man,  relying  on  their  faith  in  the 
merits  of  baptism  to  carry  them  through  in  case  the  efforts 
of  the  conjurer  were  unsuccessful.  So  the  good  father 
writes :  "  God  permitted  a  woman  to  die  this  winter  in 
her  sin ;  her  illness  had  been  concealed  from  me,  and  I  heard 
it  only  by  the  report  that  she  had  asked  for  a  very  improper 
dance  for  her  cure.  I  immediately  went  to  a  cabin  where 
all  the  chiefs  were  at  a  feast,  and  some  Kiskakonk  Chris- 
tians among  them.  To  these  I  exposed  the  impiety  of  the 
woman  and  her  medicine-man,  and  gave  them  proper  in- 
structions. I  then  spoke  to  all  present,  and  God  permitted 
that  an  old  Ottawa  rose  to  advise,  granting  what  I  asked, 
as  it  made  no  matter,  he  said,  if  the  woman  did  die.  An 
old  Christian  then  rose  and  told  the  nation  they  must  stop 
the  licentiousness  of  their  youth,  and  not  permit  Christian 
girls  to  take  part  in  such  dances.  To  satisfy  the  woman, 
some  child's-play  was  substituted  for  the  dance;  but  this 
did  not  prevent  her  dying  before  morning." 

In  another  instance  a  head-chief,  who  had  professed  Chris- 
tianity, allowed  a  dog  to  be  hung  on  a  pole  near  his  cabin, 
"  which  is  a  kind  of  sacrifice  the  Indians  make  to  the  sun. 
I  told  him  that  this  was  wrong,  and  he  went  and  threw  it 
down."  ....  "A  sick  man  instructed,  but  not  baptized, 
begged  me  to  get  him  that  favor,  or  to  live  near  him,  as 
he  did  not  wish  medicine-men  to  cure  him,  and  that  he  feared 
the  fires  of  hell.  I  prepared  him  for  baptism,  and  frequently 
visited  his  cabin.  His  joy  at  this  partly  restored  his  health; 

331 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

he  thanked  me  for  my  care,  and  soon  after,  saying  that  I 
had  recalled  him  to  life,  gave  me  a  little  slave  he  had  brought 
from  the  Illinois  two  or  three  months  before." 

Even  at  that  early  date,  when  slavery  was  regarded  as 
admissible  by  nearly  all  classes  of  people,  the  Jesuit  fathers 
were  greatly  opposed  to  it,  and  never  lost  an  opportunity 
to  denounce  the  custom  as  sinful  and  wicked.  Whenever 
slaves  fell  into  their  hands,  either  black  or  red,  they  were 
immediately  set  at  liberty  and  taught  the  truths  enunciated 
by  Christ,  that  all  men  are  equal,  children  of  the  same 
Father,  and  entitled  to  the  same  consideration.  It  was  this, 
together  with  their  adherence  to  the  doctrine  they  proclaimed 
in  their  daily  lives  and  practise,  that  gave  the  missionaries 
such  a  hold  on  the  affections  of  the  people. 

In  announcing  the  principles  of  Christianity,  the  fathers 
were  careful  not  to  offend  their  auditors  by  too  thorough 
a  condemnation  of  their  heathen  superstitions;  some  of 
the  latter  were  actually  incorporated  into  the  doctrines  of 
the  new  faith,  and  with  excellent  results.  "  One  evening," 
wrote  Marquette,  "  while  in  the  cabin  of  a  Christian  where 
I  sleep,  I  taught  him  to  pray  to  his  guardian-angel,  and  told 
him  some  stories  to  show  him  the  assistance  they  give  us, 
especially  when  in  danger  of  offering  God.  '  Now/  said 
he,  '  I  know  the  invisible  hand  that  struck  me  when,  since 
my  baptism,  I  was  going  to  commit  a  sin,  and  the  voice  that 
bid  me  remember  that  I  was  a  Christian ;  for  I  left  the  com- 
panion of  my  guilt  without  committing  the  sin.'  He  now 

332 


EXPLORATIONS  OF  MARQUETTE  AND  JOLIET 

often  speaks  of  devotion  to  the  angels,  and  explains  it  to 
the  other  Indians." 

The  influence  of  the  teachings  and  example  of  these  sainted 
fathers  diffused  itself  throughout  all  the  tribes  with  whom 
they  came  in  contact,  to  such  an  extent  that  the  savages  be- 
came like  another  race  of  men,  as  long  as  they  could  be  kept 
in  touch  with  those  men  of  God.  So  much  did  they  re- 
spect their  teachings  that  they  learned  to  respect  and  fear 
everything  that  came  to  them  in  the  name  of  France.  "  So 
much  do  they  fear  them,"  said  Father  Marquette,  writing 
of  this  peculiar  feature  of  the  work  of  the  missionaries, 
"  that  they  unbound  from  the  stake  two  Illinois  captives, 
who  said,  when  about  to  be  burned,  that  the  Frenchman  had 
declared  he  wished  peace  all  over  the  world."  These  facts 
demonstrate  the  power  of  Christianity  when  proclaimed  in 
truth  and  sincerity,  bereft  of  all  worldly-mindedness  and 
seeking  after  power.  No  other  religion  has  ever  exerted 
so  great  an  influence  over  the  minds  and  actions  of  savage 
peoples,  simply  because  it  appeals  to  that  common  senti- 
ment of  brotherhood  and  justice  which  pervades  all  hu- 
manity. These  people,  wrote  Father  Marquette,  are  well 
enough  disposed  to  receive  Christianity ;  "  they  have  be- 
gun to  abandon  their  false  worship,  and  to  adore  one  God, 
whereas  they  formerly  adored  the  sun  and  thunder." 
"  Those  seen  by  me  are  of  apparently  good  disposition ;  they 
are  not  night-runners  like  the  other  Indians.  A  man  kills 
his  wife  if  he  finds  her  unfaithful;  they  are  less  prodigal 

333 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

in  sacrifices  ....  and  promise  me  to  do  all  I  require  in 
their  country."  ....  "  Would,"  exclaims  the  good  father, 
"  that  all  these  nations  loved  God  as  much  as  they  feared  the 
French!  Christianity  would  soon  flourish." 

The  father  gives  us  touches,  also,  of  their  customs. 
Speaking  of  the  Nadouessi  he  says,  "  Their  language  is  dif- 
ferent from  the  Huron  and  the  Algonquin ;  they  have  many 
towns,  but  they  are  widely  scattered ;  they  have  very  extraor- 
dinary customs ;  they  principally  adore  the  calumet ;  they  do 
not  speak  at  great  feasts,  and  when  a  stranger  arrives,  they 
give  him  to  eat  with  a  wooden  fork,  as  we  would  a  child. 
All  the  lake  tribes  make  war  on  them,  but  with  small  suc- 
cess; they  have  false  oars,  use  little  canoes,  and  keep  their 
word  strictly."  The  Nadouessi,  according  to  Marquette, 
were  the  Iroquois  of  the  western  lake  region,  but  they  were 
less  treacherous,  and  never  made  war  except  when  attacked. 
It  is  now  impossible  to  identify  them  with  any  of  the  known 
tribes.  They  claimed  to  remember  their  migration  across 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  which  would  indicate  an  Asiatic  origin; 
but  such  vague  legends  should  be  received  with  caution. 
Their  amusements  consisted  mainly  of  athletic  exercises, 
running,  leaping,  paddling,  games  with  balls,  and  other 
games  with  small  stones,  some  of  which  were  so  complicated 
that  Europeans  could  not  comprehend  them.  Their  dances 
were  numerous,  and  constituted  a  prominent  feature  of  their 
religious  observances.  The  sexes  generally  danced  apart, 
though,  like  all  the  other  tribes,  they  were  extremely  las- 

334 


A  WAR  DANCE  OF  THE  IROQUOIS. 

^'HE  Iroquois  at  one  time  comprised  a  confederation  of  five  tribes,  and  later  a 
^•^  sixth  tribe,  the  Tuscaroras,  were  added.  Their  original  home  was  central 
New  York,  but  they  migrated  westward  and  consolidated  with  the  Hurons,  and 
at  the  time  of  Marquette's  expeditions  large  numbers  were  in  Michigan.  They 
were  a  war-like  people,  and  like  many  other  nations  rarely  undertook  a  hostile 
enterprise  without  arousing  their  courage  to  the  utmost  by  indulging  in  a  war- 
dance,  as  shown  in  the  engraving. 


I  r- 

'her, 
lev  feared  the 


. 
HI  -^O 


•oit«9b*ta<- 


.nEsifbiM  m 
6  iodnsJ-.-: 


;i!   bnB  .alq 

f,9  »*?l 


indicate 
be  rece 


uninent 


rtoms. 
is  dif- 


other 
>licated 
dances 
>f .  their 

apart, 


EXPLORATIONS  OF  MARQUETTE  AND  JOLIET 

civious  in  their  sexual  associations,  until  their  passions  were 
modified  by  the  teachings  of  Christianity.  Boys  were 
trained  from  early  infancy  to  feats  requiring  dexterity  and 
courage,  the  probation  of  the  young  warrior  being  attended 
with  long  fasts  and  tortures  so  rigorous  that  no  white  man 
could  have  endured  them.  The  object  was  to  harden  them 
to  every  peril  and  suffering  which  might  attend  them  in 
their  future  careers;  for  while  they  were  merciless  in  the 
infliction  of  tortures  on  their  enemies,  they  were  expected 
when  the  fortunes  of  war  turned  against  them  to  endure 
similar  inflictions  without  a  murmur.  So  complete  was 
the  training  of  generations  in  this  respect  that  an  Indian 
would  go  to  the  stake  with  a  smile  on  his  face,  and  endure 
the  most  excruciating  agony  with  the  stoicism  of  a  martyr. 
No  pain,  let  it  be  ever  so  great,  could  wring  a  cry  from  his 
lips;  but  in  the  midst  of  his  torments  he  would  revile  his 
enemies  and  cry  out  to  them,  "  You  are  women ;  you  do  not 
know  how  to  torture  a  prisoner." 

They  believed  in  a  future  state  of  existence,  and  rever- 
enced the  bodies  of  the  dead,  collecting  their  remains  after 
a  certain  number  of  years  into  trenches,  or  circular  pits, 
lined  with  furs,  over  which  they  raised  mounds  of  earth. 
Food  was  placed  on  the  graves  of  their  dead,  and  when  it 
was  devoured  or  carried  away  by  wild  beasts,  they  con- 
gratulated themselves  in  the  fond  belief  that  their  departed 
friends  had  eaten  it.  Implements  of  the  chase  and  weapons 
of  war  were  deposited  in  graves,  in  order  that  the  dead 

337 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

might  be  fully  armed  and  equipped  on  entering  into  the 
happy  hunting  grounds.  Dreams  were  regarded  as  admo- 
nitions of  the  soul  or  spirit,  to  be  disregarded  only  at  the 
peril  of  the  dreamer;  and  to  such  an  extent  were  they  in- 
fluenced by  this  belief  that  it  formed  a  prominent  feature 
of  their  religious  faith. 

Food  was  eaten  without  salt  or  seasoning,  and  cooked  in 
the  simplest  manner,  generally  by  roasting  or  broiling  over 
live  coals.  Baking  was  done  in  holes  in  the  ground,  where 
food  was  deposited  and  fires  kept  burning  over  it  until  it 
was  thoroughly  done.  These  were  the  earth-ovens  so  fre- 
quently mentioned  by  writers  of  that  period.  Corn  was 
prepared  in  several  ways,  the  most  common  forms  being  as 
hominy,  or  a  coarse  meal  boiled  and  served  with  bear's  grease 
or  buffalo  tallow.  This  was  called  sagamity,  and  it  was  re- 
garded as  the  finest  dish  in  existence.  The  Indians  were 
also  very  fond  of  parched  corn,  of  which  they  constantly 
ate  great  quantities;  and  when  hunting  or  on  the  war-path 
it  formed  their  main  reliance  for  food. 

They  were  familiar  with  a  number  of  remedies  for  sick- 
ness, some  of  which  were  quite  as  effective  as  those  of  civ- 
ilized people.  The  one  most  commonly  in  use  was  the 
vapor  bath,  the  processes  of  which  will  be  described  later 
on.  For  emetics  they  employed  thoroughwort,  spurge,  and 
Indian  hemp ;  and  for  cathartics,  the  inner  bark  of  the  horse- 
chestnut  and  butternut  trees.  Mayweed  and  water-pepper 
were  taken  in  the  form  of  teas  to  expel  humors  of  the  blood 

338 


EXPLORATIONS  OF  MARQUETTE  AND  JOLIET 

and  skin.  The  Indians  also  possessed  some  knowledge  of 
blood-letting  and  cupping,  but  they  seem  to  have  employed 
this  remedy  only  on  the  rarest  occasions.  They  were  ac- 
quainted with  several  deadly  poisons,  which  they  used  for 
purposes  of  revenge  and  self-destruction.  The  mania  of 
suicide  prevailed  among  them  to  an  alarming  extent,  due 
doubtless  to  their  belief  in  a  future  state  of  unalloyed  hap- 
piness. Women  destroyed  themselves  as  the  only  means  of 
escape  from  the  wretched  tyranny  and  slavery  to  which  they 
were  subjected.  Wounds  were  treated  by  sewing  the  parts 
together  with  the  small  tendons  of  the  deer,  or  the  stringy 
fibers  of  certain  barks,  after  which  they  were  poulticed  with 
wild  onions  and  other  preparations.  They  had  a  large  list 
of  herbal  remedies,  which  it  might  be  tedious  to  mention; 
though  many  of  them  appeared  to  be  effective  for  the  pur- 
poses to  which  they  were  applied. 


339 


DIVISION  XVII. 
The  Departure  from  Mackinaw. 


As  already  intimated,  the  winter  of  1672—3  was  spent  by 
Joliet  and  Marquette  at  Mackinaw,  busily  planning  and  ar- 
ranging for  their  memorable  voyage  of  discovery  on  the 
Mississippi.  The  mission  of  St.  Ignatius,  where  they  lived 
during  this  time,  was  left  in  charge  of  Father  Pierson,  who 
was  instructed  in  all -its  details  and  introduced  to  the  In- 
dians as  the  successor  of  their  beloved  Marquette. 

Winter  in  that  northern  latitude  generally  lingers  late 
into  spring,  and  so  it  was  in  the  present  instance;  for  not 
until  the  i/th  of  May,  1673,  did  the  ice  leave  the  water- 
courses sufficiently  to  enable  the  voyageurs  to  depart.  Then, 
in  two  bark  canoes,  accompanied  by  five  men  as  oarsmen, 
hunters  and  guides,  they  set  out  from  the  mission,  "  firmly 
resolved  to  do  and  suffer  all  for  so  glorious  an  enterprise." 
Father  Marquette  was  enraptured  with  the  prospect  which 
lay  before  him.  "  I  saw  my  designs,"  he  wrote,  "  on  the 
point  of  being  accomplished,  and  myself  in  the  happy  ne- 
cessity of  exposing  my  life  for  the  salvation  of  all  these 
nations."  Their  only  stock  of  provisions  for  the  long  and 
dangerous  journey,  consisted  of  a  few  pounds  of  parched 

340 


THE  DEPARTURE  FROM  MACKINAW 

corn  and  a  little  dried  meat;  but  so  earnest  was  the  good 
father  in  the  work  he  had  undertaken,  that  if  necessary  he 
would  have  started  without  a  morsel  of  food,  depending, 
like  the  prophets  of  old,  on  the  mercy  and  providence  of 
God  to  sustain  him. 

The  frail  vessels  in  which  the  hardy  adventurers  were 
entrusting  themselves  to  the  mercy  of  the  Northern  lakes, 
deserve  more  than  a  passing  notice,  for  otherwise  the  reader 
might  not  appreciate  the  full  measure  of  the  danger  they 
were  voluntarily  assuming.  The  canoes  were  composed  of 
the  bark  of  the  birch  tree,  with  cedar  splints  and  ribs  of 
spruce  roots,  covered  with  the  pitch  of  the  yellow  pine. 
They  were  not  more  than  fourteen  to  eighteen  feet  in  length, 
and  so  narrow  that  a  man  slightly  above  the  medium  size 
would  have  experienced  the  greatest  difficulty  in  seating  him- 
self in  them.  Their  keels  were  round,  like  the  shape  of  the 
logs  from  which  the  bark  had  been  riven,  and  they  rested 
so  uneasily  on  the  water  that  a  slight  tip  to  either  side  would 
have  upset  them.  The  occupants  were  therefore  required 
to  remain  seated  on  the  bottoms  so  long  as  they  continued 
on  the  water,  and  under  no  circumstance  to  move  suddenly 
or  lurch  to  either  side.  They  had  to  constantly  balance 
themselves  almost  with  the  precision  of  a  tight-rope  walker. 
Boots  and  shoes  were  rigidly  excluded,  owing  to  the  danger 
of  punching  holes  through  the  delicate  structures  with  the 
heels.  Each  passenger,  therefore,  was  required  either  to 
go  barefooted  or  wear  moccasins.  The  entire  weight  of 

341 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

such  a  vessel  did  not  exceed  forty  pounds,  an  excess  of  light- 
ness which  enabled  the  boatman  to  carry  his  canoe  with  ease, 
in  addition  to  his  arms  and  ammunition,  across  long  portages 
and  around  rapids.  Vessels  better  adapted  to  the  require- 
ments of  such  a  voyage  as  they  were  undertaking,  could  not 
have  been  found;  but  imagine  yourself  sailing  across  Lake 
Michigan,  in  the  stormiest  season  of  the  year,  in  such  a 
craft ! 

Marquette  was  careful  to  note  in  his  diary  that  they  had 
taken  all  possible  precautions,  so  that  if  the  enterprise  were 
hazardous,  it  should  not  be  foolhardy,  and  "  our  joy  at  being 
chosen  for  this  expedition  aroused  our  courage,  and 
sweetened  the  labor  of  rowing  from  morning  till  night." 
Was  ever  greater  faith  or  enthusiasm  displayed  by  man  ?  and 
all  for  the  sake  of  rinding  new  savages  whom  he  might  pos- 
sibly convert  to  the  religion  of  Christ!  "Above  all,"says 
Marquette,  "  I  put  our  voyage  under  the  protection  of  the 
blessed  Virgin  Immaculate,  promising  her  that  if  she  did 
us  the  grace  to  discover  the  great  river,  I  would  give  it  the 
name  of  Conception;  and  that  I  would  give  that  name  to 
the  first  mission  which  I  would  establish  among  these  new 
nations,  as  I  have  actually  done  among  the  Illinois." 

For  many  days  they  coasted  along  the  western  shore  of 
Lake  Michigan,  hauling  their  boats  on  the  beach  when  the 
waves  were  too  rough ;  until  at  length  they  came  to  the  head 
of  the  Bay  of  the  Fetid,  as  it  was  then  called,  now  Green 
Bay.  The  name  Fetid  was  derived  from  the  Winnebagoes 

342 


AN  ENCAMPMENT  OF  WINNEBAGO  INDIANS. 

^T'HE  Winnebagoes  were  a  tribe  of  Dakota  Indians  living  in  the  vicinity  of  Green 
^•^  Bay,  Wisconsin.  They  were  a  brave  people  and  fought  with  the  French 
against  the  British,  but  in  the  Revolution  they  favored  the  English,  as  they  did 
also  in  1812.  They  were  at  one  time  almost  exterminated  by  the  Illinois  tribe, 
and  gradually  lost  power,  until  in  1866  a  small  remnant  remained  who  were 
located  on  a  reservation  in  Nebraska, 


. 


::ase, 

i  not 


:[  p.firJLnl  t.lujlfiU  lo  :>ont  E  '.m-  " 

re  glqooq  3 /c.id  f;  -SMI  vadT       .ni^in-viY/ 

fit  bnnvsi  vf>i!l  uofltfiovj>!   orll   ,ii  Ji 

.sdii)  fionilll  3(il  </i  hjicnimiaJxa  i^ornin  an.il  ?n(.  JB  s^-, 

uKnrnai    Herns  G  dd8i    ni    lilnu  ,'ir"  i    I>'»E 

'    ni 


•n  of  the 

' 

:  riv.  ;     : 

t  the 

WO' 

' 

new 

e  of 
the 


THE  DEPARTURE  FROM  MACKINAW 

who  inhabited  that  region,  who  had  come  from  the  salt  or 
fetid  water.  Those  tribes  whose  territory  had  always 
occupied  an  interior  position  had  so  great  a  dislike  for  salt 
that  they  applied  to  it  the  same  word  which  in  their  language 
meant  putrid  or  unsavory;  and  by  this  means  the  Winne- 
bagoes  became  known  among  them,  as  well  as  the  French, 
as  the  "  stinking  Indians,"  or  Puants.  They  were  a  branch 
of  the  Dakota  family,  which  in  their  migration  from  the 
Pacific  Ocean  eastward  had  forced  their  way  to  the  shores  of 
Lake  Michigan,  where  they  were  surrounded  and  cut  off 
from  their  own  people  by  the  more  powerful  Algonquins. 
Here  they  were  suffered  to  remain,  though  treated  as  for- 
eigners and  intruders,  and  always  referred  to  in  terms  of 
derision.  Their  language,  as  well  as  their  customs,  differed 
essentially  from  those  of  the  tribes  by  which  they  were  sur- 
rounded, and  indicated  a  Tartar  origin.  By  the  Sioux  they 
were  called  Hotanke,  meaning  Sturgeon,  a  term  derived  also 
from  the  fact  of  their  having  formerly  dwelt  by  the  side  of 
the  Western  sea. 

On  reaching  the  vicinity  of  Lake  Michigan  the  Puants 
were  in  a  very  needy  condition,  and  the  Illinois  Indians  at- 
tempted to  relieve  them,  but  their  ambassadors  were  treated 
as  enemies  and  subjected  to  tortures ;  whereupon  the  Illinois 
retaliated  so  fiercely  that  the  Winnebagoes  were  almost  ex- 
terminated. Only  their  women  and  children  and  a  few  of 
the  men  were  spared.  They  slowly  recovered  their  losses, 
until  when  the  French  came  they  numbered  more  than  two 

345 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

thousand  people.  But  they  never  got  entirely  rid  of  their 
Tartar  blood,  and  always  remained  a  turbulent  race. 

When  the  missionaries  first  visited  the  Winnebagoes,  they 
understood  them  to  say  that  they  were  distant  only  nine  days 
from  the  ocean ;  but  the  term  they  used  was  not  clearly 
understood.  They  meant  to  say  that  in  nine  days  they  could 
reach  the  "  great  water,"  meaning  the  Mississippi  river, 
which  the  missionaries  interpreted  as  sea  or  ocean.  Know- 
ing that  these  people  had  come  from  the  ocean,  the  French 
were  encouraged  by  these  reports,  and  strengthened  in  their 
resolution  to  find  a  passage  to  the  South  Sea. 

The  Winnebagoes  assumed  friendly  relations  with  the 
French  from  the  beginning  of  their  acquaintance,  but  there 
was  always  a  coldness  between  them  and  the  Algonquin 
tribes,  whom  they  regarded  as  their  oppressors.  It  is  true 
they  remained  outwardly  at  peace,  but  they  preferred  the 
Iroquois,  and  paid  occasional  visits  to  the  latter.  In  this 
way  the  French  secured  a  good  deal  of  valuable  informa- 
tion concerning  the  purposes  of  the  great  Indian  confed- 
eracy, and  were  told  many  things  that  occurred  in  the  coun- 
try south  of  the  lakes.  It  was  therefore  greatly  to  their 
interest  to  maintain  friendly  relations  with  the  despised 
Puants. 

North  of  the  Winnebagoes  dwelt  the  tribes  of  the  Menomi- 
nees,  along  the  banks  of  the  river  which  still  bears  their 
name.  They  were  the  first  nation  visited  by  the  explorers  as 
they  sailed  down  the  Fetid  Bay;  andMarquette  refers  to  them 

346 


THE  DEPARTURE  FROM  MACKINAW 

as  the  "  Wild  Oats  Indians."  He  also  states  that  there  were 
at  that  time  many  good  Christians  among  them,  they  having 
received  the  gospel  gladly.  "  The  wild  oats,"  says  the  father, 
"  from  which  they  take  their  name,  .  .  .  are  a  kind  of  grass 
which  grows  spontaneously  in  little  rivers  with  slimy  bot- 
toms, and  in  marshy  places;  they  are  very  like  the  oats  that 
grow  up  among  our  wheat.  The  ears  are  on  stalks  knotted 
at  intervals;  they  rise  above  the  water  about  the  month  of 
June,  and  keep  rising  till  they  float  about  two  feet  above  it. 
The  grain  is  not  thicker  than  our  oats,  but  is  as  long  again, 
so  that  the  meal  is  much  more  abundant."  He  also  describes 
the  manner  in  which  the  Indians  gathered  the  grain.  In  the 
month  of  September,  which  was  the  time  of  harvest,  they 
paddled  in  canoes  across  the  fields  of  wild  oats,  shaking  the 
ripe  grain  from  each  side  into  the  little  vessels.  The  heads, 
being  fully  ripe,  fell  at  a  touch,  so  that  the  canoes  were  soon 
filled.  They  then  put  the  grain  to  dry  on  wooden  lattices, 
under  which  fires  were  kept  burning  for  several  days. 
"  When  the  oats  were  well  dried,  they  put  them  in  a  skin  of 
the  form  of  a  bag,  which  is  then  forced  into  a  hole  made  on 
purpose  in  the  ground ;  they  then  tread  it  out  so  long  and  so 
well  that  the  grain  being  freed  from  the  chaff  is  easily  win- 
nowed ;  after  which  they  pound  it  to  reduce  it  to  meal,  or  even 
unpounded  boil  it  in  water  seasoned  with  grease,  and  in  this 
way  wild  oats  are  about  as  palatable  as  rice  would  be  when 
not  better  seasoned." 

The  first  mission  was  established  among  the  Menominees 

347 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

in  1670,  by  Fathers  Allouez  and  Andre,  and  they  remained 
friendly  with  the  French  until  the  monopoly  granted  to  La 
Salle  in  1678  interfered,  as  they  imagined,  with  some  of 
their  rights,  when  they  were  supposed  to  have  instigated  the 
murder  of  several  men  at  the  Jesuit  mission.  But  they  made 
reparation,  and  afterward  assisted  the  French  in  their  wars 
with  the  Foxes  and  other  tribes.  A  band  of  their  warriors 
also  participated  in  Braddock's  defeat  in  1755.  During  the 
Revolution  they  sided  with  the  English,  until  the  brilliant 
successes  of  General  George  Rogers  Clark  at  Kaskaskia  and 
Vincennes,  in  1778,  alarmed  them  for  their  own  safety. 
Thereafter  they  remained  neutral  until  the  close  of  the  war, 
with  the  exception  of  an  expedition  against  the  Spaniards  at 
St.  Louis,  in  1780.  During  the  war  of  1812  they  joined  the 
confederation  of  tribes  under  Tecumseh,  and  fought  the 
Americans  to  the  end  of  the  contest.  In  1817  they  entered 
into  a  treaty  with  the  American  commissioners,  Governors 
William  Clark,  of  Missouri,  Ninian  Edwards,  of  Illinois,  and 
Auguste  Chouteau,  the  younger,  of  St.  Louis,  under  which 
they  gave  up  all  their  prisoners  and  ratified  the  land  grants 
-which  had  been  made  by  the  French,  Spanish  and  English 
governments.  During  the  war  with  the  Sacs  and  Foxes 
under  Black  Hawk,  in  1832,  the  Menominees  aided  the 
Americans  by  furnishing  General  Atkinson  with  a  company 
of  warriors ;  and  they  ever  afterward  remained  friendly  with 
our  people.  They  are  a  well-formed  race,  and  lighter  in 

complexion  than  most  other  tribes.     Their  language  is  a 

348 


IMPLEMENTS,   TOTEMS,  AND   PICTURE  WRITING 
OF  THE  MENOMONEES. 

E  Menomonex-9  arc  a  branch  of  the  great  Algonquin  confederation,  who  like 
the  Iroquois  fought  with  the  French  in  the  French  and  English  war,  but  be- 
came allies  of-tlie  British  during  the  Revolution  and  war  of  1812.  The\-  occupied 
a  considerable  part  of  Wisconsin,  but  gradually  ceded  their  lands  in.  the  vicinity 
of  Green  Hay,  and  adopted  agriculture  in  which  they  have  had  considerable  suc- 
cess. The  Menoinonees,  which  however  no  longer  maintain  their  tribal  .organi- 
zation, still  live  in  Wisconsin.  The  illustration  herewith  shows  the  implements 
and  picture-writing  used  by  the  tribe  at  the  time  that  Marquette  visited  them. 

", 


.  La 

:    of 


\f/AT:O''. 

I  OWAXi. 


/•-  n;-/:y  3dj 

.fiis. 


the 

ipany 

' 


THE  DEPARTURE  FROM  MACKINAW 

dialect  of  the  Algonquin,  but  it  has  numerous  peculiarities 
of  accent  and  is  extremely  gutteral  in  sound. 

When  Marquette  informed  the  Wild  Oats  Indians  that  he 
was  on  his  way  to  discover  distant  nations  and  instruct  them 
in  the  mysteries  of  the  Christian  religion,  they  were  greatly 
surprised,  and  exerted  their  utmost  influence  to  dissuade  him 
from  so  dangerous  an  adventure.  They  told  him  that  he 
would  encounter  nations  who  never  spared  strangers,  but 
tomahawked  them  without  provocation  or  mercy ;  that  a  great 
war  was  then  prevailing  among  the  tribes  of  the  South  and 
Southwest,  and  that  if  he  should  fall  in  with  any  of  their 
roving  bands  they  would  kill  and  scalp  the  "  black  gown," 
as  the  fathers  were  called,  and  all  his  company.  They  also 
represented  that  the  Great  River  was  very  dangerous,  except 
when  navigated  by  some  one  who  was  familiar  with  its  cur- 
rents and  eddies ;  that  it  was  full  of  frightful  monsters,  that 
swallowed  up  canoes  and  men;  and  that  at  a  certain  place 
there  was  a  demon  whose  roarings  could  be  heard  afar,  and 
who  devoured  every  living  creature  that  came  within  his 
reach.  In  addition  to  all  this,  they  declared  that  the  heat 
of  the  countries  through  which  the  river  flowed  was  so  in- 
tense that  it  would  inevitably  kill  every  person  not  acclimated 
to  it. 

"  I  thanked  them  for  their  kind  advice,"  says  the  father, 
"  but  assured  them  that  I  could  not  follow  it,  as  the  salvation 
of  souls  was  concerned ;  that  for  them,  I  should  be  happy  to 
lay  down  my  life;  that  I  made  light  of  their  pretended  de- 

351 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

mon;  that  we  would  defend  ourselves  well  enough  against 
the  river  monsters ;  and,  besides,  we  should  be  on  our  guard 
to  avoid  the  other  dangers  with  which  they  threatened  us. 
After  having  made  them  pray  and  given  them  some  instruc- 
tion, I  left  them,  and,  embarking  in  our  canoes,  we  soon 
after  reached  the  extremity  of  the  Bay  of  the  Fetid,  where 
our  fathers  labor  successfully  in  the  conversion  of  these 
tribes,  having  baptized  more  than  two  thousand  since  they 
have  been  there." 

These  good  Indians  were  greatly  cast  down  when  they  saw 
that  the  father  could  not  be  persuaded  to  abandon  his 
dangerous  journey;  but  they  wished  him  well,  and  sent  a 
number  of  their  young  men  in  canoes  to  guide  him  and  his 
party  for  a  considerable  distance  on  their  way. 

Marquette  was  impressed  with  the  belief  that  there  must 
be  salt  springs  in  that  vicinity,  as  there  were  among  the 
Iroquois;  and  at  his  request  Joliet  delayed  the  expedition 
several  days  in  order  that  he  might  have  an  opportunity  to 
search  for  them;  but  none  could  be  found.  He  learned, 
during  his  intercourse  with  these  Indians,  that  in  the  Iro- 
quois country  there  was  a  famous  spring  inhabited  by  a 
demon,  who  made  the  water  f cetid  or  salt ;  for  which  reason 
no  Indian  could  drink  of  it  without  making  himself  sick. 
They  also  related  that  when  the  Iroquois  tortured  the  mis- 
sionaries, Brebeuf  and  Lalemant,  they  detected  a  trace  of 
salt  in  the  flesh  of  the  latter,  which  so  disgusted  them  that 
they  prolonged  his  sufferings  until  morning,  as  heretofore 

352 


explained,  under  the  belief  that  he  was  in  league  with  evil 
spirits.  Marquette  finally  concluded  that  the  name  Fetid 
Bay  must  be  derived  from  the  quantities  of  slime  and  mud 
which  constantly  accumulated  there,  the  noxious  vapors  of 
which  caused  the  longest  and  loudest  peals  of  thunder  that 
he  had  ever  heard. 

He  observed  also  that  the  tides  of  the  bay  ebbed  and 
flowed  almost  with  the  regularity  of  the  sea,  a  phenomenon 
which  he  attributed  to  the  pressure  of  the  winds  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  lake.  Others,  however,  supposed  that  the  tides 
of  the  bay  were  due  to  special  winds,  "  outriders  of  the 
moon,  or  attached  to  her  suite,  who  constantly  agitate  the 
lake  and  give  it  a  kind  of  flow  and  ebb,  whenever  the  moon 
rises  above  the  horizon."  "  What  I  can  certainly  aver  is," 
continues  the  father,  "  that  when  the  water  is  quite  tranquil, 
you  can  easily  see  it  rise  and  fall  with  the  course  of  the  moon, 
although  I  do  not  deny  that  this  movement  may  be  caused 
by  distant  winds,  which  pressing  on  the  center  of  the  lake 
make  it  rise  and  fall  on  the  shore  in  the  way  that  it  meets  our 
eyes."  This  opinion  now  prevails,  confirming  the  careful 
and  intelligent  observations  of  Marquette;  though  some 
argue  that  the  tides  are  due  to  springs  at  the  bottom  of 
the  lake,  and  the  shock  of  their  currents  with  those  of  the 
rivers  which  fall  into  it  from  all  sides  and  produce  the  inter- 
mitting motions. 

On  leaving  the  bay,  the  explorers  entered  Fox  river,  and 
paddled  up  that  stream  to  its  junction  with  Lake  Winnebago. 

353 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

The  father  observed  that  the  river  was  very  beautiful  at  its 
mouth,  where  it  flowed  gently;  and  that  it  was  filled  with 
geese,  ducks,  teal,  and  other  birds,  attracted  by  the  wild 
oats  which  grew  there  luxuriantly.  As  they  advanced  up 
the  stream  it  became  very  difficult,  on  account  of  the  cur- 
rents and  the  sharp  rocks  that  cut  the  canoes  and  the  naked 
feet  of  the  men  who  were  obliged  to  drag  them.  But  at 
length  they  passed  the  rapids  in  safety,  and  began  to  ap- 
proach the  country  of  the  Mascoutins,  or  fire  nation,  whose 
territory  lay  along  the  Wisconsin  river,  and  extended  east- 
ward to  Fox  river. 

As  they  glided  along  in  their  canoes,  Marquette's  atten- 
tion was  attracted  to  a  singular  herb,  the  virtues  of  which, 
he  says,  had  been  made  known  some  years  previously  to 
Father  Allouez,  by  kan  Indian  who  was  possessed  of  the 
secret.  "  Its  root  is  useful  against  the  bite  of  serpents,  the 
Almighty  having  been  pleased  to  give  this  remedy  against 
a  poison  very  common  in  the  country.  It  is  very  hot,  and 
has  the  taste  of  powder  when  crushed  between  the  teeth.  It 
must  be  chewed  and  put  on  the  bite  of  the  serpent.  Snakes 
have  such  an  antipathy  for  it  that  they  fly  from  one  rubbed 
with  it."  So  certain  was  this  remedy  that  for  a  small  pres- 
ent, or  a  drink  of  whisky,  an  Indian  would  allow  himself 
to  be  bitten  by  the  most  venomous  of  serpents,  knowing  that 
he  could  quickly  neutralize  the  poison  by  applying  a  poultice 
of  the  herb  to  the  affected  part.  The  plant  was  called  by  the 
French  "  serpent-a-sonnettes,"  and  they  knew  it  as  an  infal- 

354 


MIAMI,  KICK  A  POO,  AND  MASCO  UTIN  INDIANS. 

E  Miami,  Mascoutin  and  Kickapoo  were  each  tribes  that  at  one  time  belonged 
to  the  Algonquins.  The  former  were  especially  numerous,  occupying  in 
the  eighteenth  century  a  large  part  of  Ohio  and  Indiana.  The  remnant  was  re- 
moved to  a  reservation  in  Kansas  in  1846.  The  Mascoutins  lived  on  the  Wisconsin 
River  at  the  time  of  Marquette's  visit,  and  were  noted  for  peaceable  disposition 
and  hospitality.  The  Kickapoos  were  originally  confined  to  Illinois,  and  joined 
Clark's  expedition  against  Vincennes,  but  turned  against  the  government  and  were 
defeated  by  Wayne  in  1795.  They  also  fought  with  Tecumseh  at  Tippecanoe  in 
1811,  and  joined  the  English  in  1812.  They  suffered  many  defeats  and  after 
ceding  their  lands  in  Illinois  removed  to  Kansas  1854,  since  which  time  they  have 
become  small  in  numbers  and  nomadic. 


' 

with 
he  wild 
meed  up 

ked 

But  at 

ap- 
,OO<\O  %se 

-•d  3fflij  3110  }£  K,  :  .\i£    ^TT- 

o  ,eijo'[9(nun  ^Ilfii'j^qe*  3137/  I3fmoi  ariT       .«f. ;  iij  ot     ^^ 

-97  ?.EY>  JiiBninsi  3flT       .tneibdl  bnu  oiriO  lo  Jisq  agifi!  s  viuJi; 


• 

- 
••j-j'J"  fbiv, 

' 
}di  ami)  ri- 

•KUion  bnc  tnsdrniin  ' 

;igainst 

hot,  and 

teeth.    It 

ikes 

;ibbed 


lowing  that 
ultice 
y  the 
.nfal- 


THE  DEPARTURE  FROM  MACKINAW 

lible  remedy  for  the  poison  of  snakes.  The  root  was  com- 
monly reduced  to  a  powder  or  pulp,  by  chewing,  and  applied 
in  that  form.  It  could  also  be  taken  internally,  in  water, 
with  the  same  effect.  The  weed  had  a  nauseous  smell,  and 
was  always  avoided  by  serpents.  Two  or  three  drops  in 
a  snake's  mouth  would  kill  it  instantly. 

The  country  of  the  Mascoutins  was  the  limit  of  French 
explorations  at  that  date;  beyond  there  the  travelers  would 
find  themselves  among  nations  who  had  never  seen  a  white 
face,  and  who  were  reported  to  be  very  cruel  and  warlike. 
The  town  of  the  Fire  Indians  was  composed  of  three  nations, 
the  Miamis,  Mascoutins,  and  Kickapoos.  The  first  were 
more  civil  than  the  others;  also  more  intelligent  and  better 
formed  physically.  "  They  wear  two  long  ear-locks,  which 
give  them  a  good  appearance;  they  have  the  name  of  being 
warriors  and  seldom  send  out  parties  in  vain;  they  are  very 
docile,  listen  quietly  to  what  you  tell  them,  and  showed  them- 
selves so  eager  to  hear  Father  Allouez  when  he  was  instruct- 
ing them  that  they  gave  him  little  rest  even  at  night.  The 
Mascoutins  and  Kickapoos  are  ruder  and  more  like  peasants 
compared  to  the  others." 

The  Miamis  and  the  Kickapoos  were  kindred  tribes  and 
allies,  as  intimated  by  the  father.  It  is  believed  that  the 
Kickapoos  had  formerly  lived  on  the  Mississippi,  above  the 
Wisconsin ;  and  they  possessed  much  information  concerning 
the  Great  River  which  being  imparted  to  the  explorers  they 
found  very  useful  in  their  subsequent  travels.  These  Indians 

357 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

were  treacherous,  and  although  the  fathers  labored  among 
them  assiduously  they  never,  as  a  tribe,  adopted  the  teach- 
ings of  Christianity.  On  two  or  three  occasions  they  made 
prisoners  of  the  missionaries,  but  surrendered  them  after 
several  months  of  captivity.  During  the  early  part  of  the 
1 8th  century  a  portion  of  the  tribe  migrated  to  the  Wabash 
country,  where,  after  the  peace  of  1763,  the  English  found 
one  hundred  and  eighty  of  them  collected  in  a  town.  Two 
years  afterward  they  participated  in  Pontiac's  war,  and  con- 
tinued at  enmity  with  the  English,  to  the  extent  of  assisting 
General  Clark  in  his  expedition  against  Vincennes,  in  1779. 
After  the  peace  of  1783  and  the  establishment  of  the  Amer- 
ican government  they  became  troublesome,  but  were  finally 
brought  into  subjection  as  one  of  the  results  of  Wayne's  cel- 
ebrated victory  at  Fallen  Timbers,  in  1793.  They  subse- 
quently joined  their  forces  with  those  of  Tecumseh,  but  of- 
fered to  treat  after  their  disastrous  defeat  at  Tippecanoe,  an 
overture  which  General  Harrison  declined  to  accept.  After 
a  series  of  other  disasters  they  finally  made  peace,  and  in 
1819  ceded  to  the  United  States  the  greater  part  of  their 
lands  in  Illinois,  which  they  claimed  by  conquest  from  other 
tribes.  About  1830  a  prophet,  or  chief,  named  Kennekuk 
arose  among  them,  and  proclaiming  himself  a  teacher  of  a 
new  religion  preached  with  great  eloquence  and  taught  the 
people  to  pray  morning  and  evening,  the  form  of  prayer 
being  symbolically  cut  on  sticks  of  maple  wood.  This  sin- 
gular revival  swept  over  the  whole  tribe,  hundreds  of  con- 

358 


THE  DEPARTURE  FROM  MACKINAW 

verts  acknowledging  the  sway  of  their  eloquent  teacher.  In 
1854  a  portion  of  the  tribe  was  removed  to  a  reservation  in 
Atchison  County,  Kansas,  where  many  of  them  died  of 
smallpox,  Kennekuk  among  the  number.  His  influence 
ceased  with  his  death,  and  we  hear  nothing  further  of 
the  religion  which  he  established.  Neither  the  Jesuits  nor 
the  various  Protestant  denominations  which  have  at  differ- 
ent times  established  missions  among  the  Kickapoos  have 
ever  been  able  to  make  any  decided  impression  on  them; 
they  adhere  by  preference  to  the  gods  of  their  fathers. 

When  the  French  first  became  acquainted  with  the  Mia- 
mis  they  were  a  great  and  powerful  nation,  with  a  capac- 
ity to  put  as  many  as  eight  thousand  warriors  in  the  field. 
At  that  time  they  occupied  a  large  village  at  the  head  of  Fox 
river,  the  same  that  was  visited  by  Joliet  and  Marquette 
where  their  ruling  chief,  Tetenchoua,  presided  with  a  fine 
body-guard  of  warriors  and  a  court  equalling  in  splendor 
some  of  the  Southern  tribes  seen  by  De  Soto.  They  subse- 
quently established  towns  on  the  present  site  of  Chicago, 
and  at  the  mouth  of  St.  Joseph's  river,  in  Michigan.  The 
Miamis  were  related  also  to  the  Illinois,  in  consequence  of 
which  they  were  attacked  by  the  Iroquois  in  1683 ;  but  they 
were  strong  enough  to  maintain  their  ground,  although  as- 
sailed by  the  Sioux  on  the  west  at  the  same  time.  Discover- 
ing some  French  traders  among  the  latter,  they  were  so 
incensed  against  their  white  allies  that  they  made  a  prisoner 
of  Nicholas  Perrot,  and  came  near  burning  him  at  the  stake. 

359 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

Their  cordial  relations  with  the  French  were  never  restored ; 
they  continued  restless  and  threatening,  and  finally  joined 
the  Iroquois  in  their  war  of  extermination  against  the 
Hurons.  In  this  struggle  they  suffered  heavily,  being  still 
at  war  with  the  Sioux,  who  captured  and  carried  away  an 
entire  village  and  incorporated  its  people  into  their  own  na- 
tion. By  the  beginning  of  the  i8th  century  the  Miamis  had 
retired  temporarily  from  their  settlements  at  Chicago  and 
on  the  St.  Joseph's  river,  and  bands  of  them  were  living  on 
the  Miami,  the  Wabash  and  the  Ohio.  From  this  time  un- 
til the  close  of  hostilities  between  the  French  and  English 
these  Indians  were  first  with  one  party  and  then  the  other, 
manifesting  no  decided  friendship  for  either.  After  the  fall 
of  the  French  power  they  refused  permission  to  the  English 
to  cross  their  territory,  .and  joining  their  forces  with  Pon- 
tiac  they  assisted  that  renowned  chief  in  capturing  the  Brit- 
ish posts  at  Miami  and  St.  Joseph's.  They  sided  with  Eng- 
land in  the  Revolution,  until  Clark  captured  Vincennes  and 
ravaged  their  towns,  when  they  sued  for  peace.  In  1790, 
under  the  leadership  of  Little  Turtle,  they  defeated  General 
Harmer,  having  put  1,500  thoroughly  equipped  warriors 
into  the  field.  The  following  year  the  towns  of  the  Weas, 
a  branch  of  the  Miami  tribe,  were  destroyed  by  a  force  under 
General  Scott,  and  their  country  ravaged  as  a  measure  of 
warning  for  the  defeat  of  Harmer.  The  Weas  at  that  time 
were  rapidly  advancing  in  civilization,  but  this  terrible  stroke 
put  an  end  to  their  progress,  at  least  for  the  time  being.  The 

360 


THE  DEPARTURE  FROM  MACKINAW. 

defeat  of  General  St.  Clair  followed  in  1791,  by  an  army 
of  Miamis  under  Little  Turtle;  and  not  until  1795  were  they 
brought  to  terms  as  a  result  of  the  victories  of  General 
Wayne.  From  that  date  the  tribe  declined  rapidly,  intem- 
perance proving  more  fatal  than  disease  or  war.  At  the 
beginning  of  Tecumseh's  operations,  in  1812,  the  Miamis 
refused  to  take  part  on  either  side,  but  they  were  gradually 
drawn  into  the  contest,  and  suffered  in  like  proportion  with 
their  allies.  A  considerable  portion  of  the  tribe  was  even- 
tually removed  to  the  eastern  part  of  Kansas,  where  their 
descendants  still  reside. 

Father  Marquette  gives  us  a  very  interesting  view  of  the 
manner  of  life  that  prevailed  among  these  savages  at  the 
time  of  his  visit  in  1673.  "  As  bark  for  cabins  is  rare  in 
this  country,"  he  writes,  "  they  use  rushes,  which  serve  them 
for  walls  and  roof,  but  which  are  no  great  shelter  against 
the  wind,  and  still  less  against  the  rain  when  it  falls  in  tor- 
rents. The  advantage  of  this  kind  of  cabins  is  that  they 
can  roll  them  up,  and  carry  them  easily  where  they  like  in 
hunting-time. 

"  When  I  visited  them  I  was  extremely  consoled  to  see 
a  beautiful  cross  planted  in  the  midst  of  the  town,  adorned 
with  several  white  skins,  red  belts,  bows  and  arrows,  which 
these  good  people  had  offered  to  the  Great  Manitou  (such 
is  the  name  they  give  to  God),  to  thank  Him  for  having  had 
pity  on  them  during  the  winter,  giving  them  plenty  of  game 
when  they  were  in  greatest  dread  of  famine. 

361 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

"  I  felt  no  little  pleasure  in  beholding  the  position  of  this 
town;  the  view  is  beautiful  and  very  picturesque,  for  from 
the  eminence  on  which  it  is  perched  the  eye  discovers  on 
every  side  prairies  spreading  away  beyond  its  reach,  inter- 
spersed with  thickets  or  groves  of  lofty  trees.  The  soil  is 
very  good,  producing  much  corn;  the  Indians  gather  also 
quantities  of  plums  and  grapes,  from  which  good  wine  might 
be  made,  if  they  chose." 

As  soon  as  the  travelers  arrived  at  this  town,  there  was 
a  grand  convocation  of  all  the  sachems,  and  after  the  calumet 
had  been  passed  Marquette  arose  and  addressed  them.  He 
told  them  that  he  and  his  companions  Were  sent  by  the 
French  governor  to  discover  new  countries,  and  that  he, 
by  the  help  of  the  Almighty,  would  illuminate  them  with  the 
light  of  the  gospel ;  that  the  Sovereign  Master  of  their  lives 
wished  to  be  known  to  all  nations,  and  that  in  obeying  the 
will  of  his  Heavenly  Father  he  did  not  fear  the  dangers  to 
which  they  would  be  exposed.  He  thereupon  stated  that 
they  needed  two  guides  to  point  out  the  way  to  them,  the 
request  being  accompanied  by  presents  which  he  delivered 
to  the  chiefs.  The  speech  and  the  presents  were  most  gra- 
ciously received,  and  in  turn  the  sachems  gave  the  father  an 
elegant  mat  of  rushes  to  serve  him  as  a  bed  during  his 
voyage. 

The  next  day,  being  the  loth  of  June,  1673,  the  travelers 
re-embarked,  accompanied  by  two  young  Miamis  as  guides, 
in  the  sight  of  a  great  crowd  of  men,  women  and  children, 

362 


THE  DEPARTURE  FROM  MACKINAW 

who  could  not  wonder  enough  to  see  seven  Frenchmen,  in 
two  frail  canoes,  undertake  so  long  and  so  dangerous  a 
journey.  They  had  been  directed  to  pursue  a  course  a  little 
west  of  southwest,  in  order  that  they  might  reach  the  proper 
place  to  make  the  portage;  but  the  route  was  so  cut  up  by 
marshes  and  little  lakes,  and  the  rivers  were  so  covered  with 
wrild  oats,  that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  observe  the  chan- 
nel, and  they  certainly  would  have  gone  astray  except  for 
the  guidance  of  the  two  young  Indians.  At  length  they 
reached  the  portage,  which  they  made  in  safety,  and  soon 
found  themselves  floating  on  the  bosom  of  the  Wisconsin. 
The  route  of  the  portage  between  the  Fox  and  the  Wiscon- 
sin rivers  passed  over  a  low,  flat  plain,  which  in  seasons  of 
flood-time  was  often  covered  with  water,  on  which  canoes 
might  float  from  one  stream  to  the  other;  but  in  the  present 
instance,  the  water  being  low,  or  at  mid-stage,  the  canoes 
and  their  baggage  had  to  be  transported  on  the  backs  of  the 
men.  But  as  this  had  been  anticipated  it  was  not  regarded 
as  a  hardship,  and  each  member  of  the  company  cheerfully 
performed  his  part. 

As  soon  as  they  were  safely  launched  on  the  Wisconsin 
the  guides  bade  them  farewell  and  returned  to  the  village, 
while  the  voyageurs,  with  light  hearts,  submitted  themselves 
to  the  current  of  the  river  and  the  watchful  guidance  of 
Providence.  "  We  now  leave  the  waters,"  wrote  Marquette, 
"  which  flow  to  Quebec,  a  distance  of  four  or  five  hundred 
leagues,  to  follow  those  which  will  henceforth  lead  us  into 

21 


LOUISIANA  .  TERRITORY 

strange  lands.  Before  embarking  we  all  began  together  a 
new  devotion  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  Immaculate,  which  we 
practised  every  day,  addressing  her  particular  prayers  to 
put  under  her  protection  both  our  persons  and  the  success 
of  our  voyage." 

The  father's  description  of  the  river  as  he  saw  it  is  both 
beautiful  and  accurate,  as  those  who  are  now  familiar  with 
the  stream  will  admit.  He  gives  the  Indian  name,  which 
for  the  sake  of  euphony  might  have  been  retained  with  ad- 
vantage. "  The  river  on  which  we  embarked  is  called  Mes- 
kousing;  it  is  very  broad,  with  a  sandy  bottom,  forming 
many  shallows,  which  render  navigation  very  difficult.  It 
is  full  of  vine-clad  islets.  On  the  banks  appear  fertile  lands 
diversified  with  wood,  prairie,  and  hill.  Here  you  find  oaks, 
walnut,  whitewood,  and  another  kind  of  tree  with  branches 
armed  with  long  thorns.  We  saw  no  small  game  or  fish, 
but  deer  and  moose  in  considerable  numbers." 

It  was  the  elk,  not  the  moose,  which  attracted  the  father's 
attention;  for  the  range  of  the  latter  did  not  extend  so  far 
south  as  the  Wisconsin  river.  Although  the  two  animals 
are  often  classed  as  the  same,  and  while  they  possess  some 
features  that  are  alike,  they  are  in  fact  two  distinct  species, 
as  every  one  must  admit  who  has  seen  them.  The 
moose  is  much  larger  than  the  elk,  is  different  in  shape  and 
color,  and  has  palmated  horns ;  while  the  elk  has  branching 
antlers  like  the  deer.  Elks  formerly  ranged  over  nearly 
the  whole  territory  of  the  United  States,  and  were  especially 

364 


M/lRgUETTE  ON  THE  WISCONSIN. 

EN  Marquette  set  out  in  search  of  the  Mississippi  he  passed  from  Lake 
Michigan  into  Green  Bay  and  thence  made  a  portage,  probably  to  Lake 
Winnebago,  and  from  that  lake  to  Wisconsin  River,  a  stream  to  which  he  was 
directed  and  guided  by  Indians.  The  trip  down  that  stream  was  continued  in  a 
canoe,  and  Marquette  describes  it  as  being  a  journey  of  unmixed  delight.  The 
river  is  itself  a  beautiful  one  for  canoeing,  the  country  abounded  in  game,  and 
water-fowl  of  many  species  made  the  surroundings  noisy  with  their  cries,  the 
weather  at  the  time  being  warm  enough  to  make  travelling  delightful. 


• 

. 

the  river  as  he  saw  it  is 
je  now  familiar 
Indian  name,  \\ 

;ed  with  ad- 
Mes- 


/  K3H1 

K^UttHUlff' 

•..•••'•••:•>"'' 
K  ni  batinhrioD  ••• 

•Wkk«4 

•;fti"firiL;" 

9fjl    ,% 


i  the  fai 
extend  so  far 
;  the  two  animals 

. 

.vtinct  S} 
een    them. 

hape  and 
, 

d  over  nearly 


Boigned  tai e\cr.ed  for  Eincrofi-i  Hif.oryof.'Jn U a»t, 


THE  DEPARTURE  FROM  MACKINAW 

abundant  in  the  Middle  and  Western  States ;  they  have  even 
been  seen  as  far  south  as  the  coast  region  of  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  The  southern  limit  of  the  moose,  on  the  other 
hand,  did  not  extend  below  the  45th  parallel  of  latitude.  It 
would  amuse  an  old  pioneer  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  to  tell 
him  that  moose  were  plentiful  in  Missouri  and  Kentucky 
at  the  time  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase;  while  he  would  rec- 
ognize as  true  the  statement  that  this  region  then  abounded 
with  herds  of  elk,  as  it  did. 

After  sailing  down  the  Wisconsin  a  distance  of  thirty 
leagues,  the  travelers  came  to  a  place  which  had  every  ap- 
pearance of  an  iron  mine,  and  one  of  the  party  who  was 
familiar  with  that  mineral  averred  that  it  was  very  good  and 
rich.  Ten  leagues  more  brought  them  to  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  where  it  unites  with  the  Mississippi ;  and  for  the  first 
time  in  the  history  of  the  New  World  Frenchmen  found 
themselves  floating  on  the  bosom  of  the  Father  of  Waters ! 
Says  Marquette,  "  We  safely  entered  the  Mississippi  on  the 
17th  of  June,  with  a  joy  that  I  cannot  express."  The 
father's  heart  was  filled  with  thankfulness  and  gratitude  for 
having  been  permitted  to  share  in  the  discovery  of  the  great 
river;  but  there  is  nothing  vainglorious  in  the  manner  in 
which  he  describes  his  sensations.  "  Here  then  we  are  on 
this  renowned  river,  of  which  I  have  endeavored  to  re- 
mark attentively  all  the  peculiarities.  The  Mississippi  has 
its  source  in  several  lakes  in  the  country  of  the  nations  to 
the  north ;  it  is  narrow  at  the  mouth  of  the  Miskousing ;  its 

367 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

current,  which  runs  south,  is  slow  and  gentle;  on  the  right 
is  a  considerable  chain  of  very  high  mountains,  and  on  the 
left  fine  lands;  it  is  in  many  places  studded  with  islands; 
on  sounding  we  found  ten  fathoms  of  water.  .  .  .  We 
gently  followed  its  course  till  the  forty-second  degree.  Here 
we  perceive  that  the  whole  face  is  changed ;  there  is  now  al- 
most no  wood  or  mountain,  the  islands  are  more  beautiful 
and  covered  with  finer  trees;  we  see  nothing  but  deer  and 
moose,  bustards  and  wingless  swans,  for  they  shed  their 
plumes  in  this  country.  From  time  to  time  we  meet  mon- 
strous fish,  one  of  which  struck  so  violently  against  our 
canoe,  that  I  took  it  for  a  large  tree  about  to  knock  us  to 
pieces."  This  was  doubtless  one  of  those  enormous  catfish 
which  are  occasionally  found  in  the  Mississippi  and  its 
tributaries,  a  few  specimens  having  been  seen  that  measured 
six  or  eight  feet  in  length,  and  were  larger  around  the  body 
than  a  man. 

Soon  afterward  they  perceived  a  monster  on  the  water 
with  a  head  like  that  of  a  tiger,  a  pointed  snout  like  a  wild- 
cat's, beard  and  ears  erect,  a  grayish  head,  and  its  neck  all 
black.  Although  this  description  does  not  exactly  fit  the 
panther,  the  monster  that  so  excited  the  gentle  Marquette 
was  undoubtedly  one  of  those  animals ;  and  it  was  well  that 
their  canoes  did  not  come  within  reach  of  its  frightful  claws. 
I*  .The  father  observes  that  they  soon  afterward  cast  their 
nets,  and  captured  some  sturgeon,  and  a  very  extraordinary 
kind  of  fish :  "  It  resembles  a  trout,  with  this  difference, 

368 


MAT^gUETTE'S  REDISCOVERY  OF   THE  MISSISSIPPI. 

~f\  LTHOUGH  De  Soto  was  the  first  white  man  to  look  upon  the  turbulent  waters  of 
~»  the  Mississippi,  in  1541,  the  discovery  was  not  utilized  and  passed  out  of 
mind  almost  as  completely  as  did  the  records  of  American  discovery  by  the  Norse- 
men in  the  tenth  century.  Father  Jacques  Marquette,  born  1637,  a  native  of  Laon , 
France,  a  Jesuit  Missionary,  has  the  honor  therefore,  which  he  shared  with  Joliet, 
of  having  rediscovered  the  Mississippi  in  1673,  which  he  descended  in  a  canoe  as 
far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas.  Returning  north  he  built  a  missionary  station 
where  Chicago  now  stands  and  then  setting  out  for  Mackinaw  died  on  the  way, 
1675,  near  Lake  Michigan. 


O£F 


h>  miBW  JftMudiuJ  arh  noqi. 
*o  tuo  hj-  snq   bnfi  b:r 

1    3lb  '{c'  '(73700^!. 

?O3vitEn  r>  ,V£di  mod  ,9}t- 
:-t7icrf*  so 

im  B  'ii. 


•til  no  b9ib^nrkni)fofiM  TO' 


on  the  right 

, 

ids; 

.     We 

c.    Here 

now  al- 

itifttl 

ing  i- 


r-k 


.  .     ,    ,     •       !  "-•  • 


"tly  fit  • 
Marque 
5  well  tl 

:-ir 

• 
d  . 


THE  DEPARTURE  FROM.   MACKINAW 

that  it  has  a  larger  mouth,  but  smaller  eyes  and  snout 
Near  the  latter  is  a  large  bone,  like  a  woman's  busk  (corset 
steel  or  strip  of  whalebone),  three  fingers  wide  and  a  cubic 
long;  the  end  is  circular,  and  as  wide  as  the  hand.  In  leap- 
ing out  of  the  water  the  weight  of  this  often  throws  it  back." 
This  is  supposed  to  have  been  a  member  of  the  "  polyodon 
spatula,"  called  by  the  French  "  le  spatule,"  a  few  specimens 
of  which  have  been  found  in  the  Mississippi;  but  they  are 
so  rare  that  no  one  would  recognize  the  species  by  Mar- 
quette's  description.  The  common  name  is  spade-fish,  or 
shovel-fish. 

Having  descended  to  latitude  41°  28",  which  would  be 
a  short  distance  below  Muscatine,  Iowa,  the  father  observed 
that  turkeys  had  taken  the  place  of  game,  and  the  pisikious, 
or  wild  cattle,  that  of  other  beasts.  The  latter  were  the 
bisons,  or  buffaloes,  which  then  and  for  a  century  and  a 
half  afterward  ranged  in  vast  herds  all  over  the  central 
portions  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  Marquette  uses  the  In- 
dian name,  but  the  French  generally  referred  to  them  as 
"  wild  cattle,"  or  "  bceufs  sauvages"  The  father's  de- 
scription of  the  buffalo  is,  like  all  his  writings,  highly  in- 
teresting; but  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  repeat  here  what 
has  already  been  given  in  connection  with  other  explora- 
tions. He  states  that  "  the  flesh  and  fat  of  the  pisikious 
are  excellent,  and  constitute  the  best  dish  in  banquets.  They 
are  very  fierce,  and  not  a  year  passes  without  their  killing 
some  Indian.  When  attacked,  they  take  a  man  with  their 

369 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

horns,  and  then  dash  him  on  the  ground,  trample  on  him, 
and  kill  him.  When  you  fire  at  them  from  a  distance  with 
gun  or  bow,  you  must  throw  yourself  on  the  ground  as 
soon  as  you  fire,  and  hide  in  the  grass ;  for,  if  they  perceive 
the  one  who  fired,  they  rush  on  him  and  attack  him.  .  .  . 
They  are  scattered  over  the  prairies  like  herds  of  cattle.  I 
have  seen  a  band  of  four  hundred." 

The  animals  had  a  great  dread  of  fire,  and  the  Indians 
knowing  this,  were  in  the  habit  of  hunting  them  by  that 
means.  On  perceiving  the  approach  of  the  smoke  and 
flames,  they  retired  toward  the  center  of  the  prairie,  where 
they  congregated  in  dense  masses.  The  savages  then  rushed 
close  up  to  them,  and  slew  them  by  scores  with  their  bows 
and  arrows ;  in  many  instances  approaching  even  near  enough 
to  kill  them  with  their  flint-pointed  spears,  for  at  such  times 
the  terrified  animals  would  not  leave  their  ranks  to  attack 
an  enemy. 

Meanwhile  the  travelers  were  steadily  advancing,  though 
they  did  not  hasten  their  speed  by  rowing,  merely  floating 
with  the  current,  in  order  that  they  might  observe  the  coun- 
try as  they  passed  along.  At  this  rate  they  traveled  about 
four  miles  an  hour,  and  as  they  were  usually  up  with  the  sun 
and  floated  until  the  dusk  of  evening,  their  progress  was  at 
the  rate  of  more  than  forty  miles  per  day.  Fearing  sur- 
prises from  hostile  natives  or  monsters  of  the  deep,  one  of 
their  party  was  kept  constantly  on  guard.  At  night  they 
landed  and  built  a  fire  to  cook  their  food  by,  but  as  soon 

370 


THE  DEPARTURE  FROM  MACKINAW 

as  they  had  eaten  their  suppers  they  returned  to  the  canoes, 
where  they  spent  the  night  anchored  far  out  in  the  river. 

At  length,  after  having  traveled  more  than  sixty  leagues 
since  entering  the  Mississippi,  they  came  to  another  large 
river  flowing  from  the  west;  and  observing  a  beaten  path 
leading  from  the  water's  edge  to  a  beautiful  prairie,  they 
resolved  to  land  and  visit  the  people  who  dwelt  there.  It 
might  prove  to  be  a  dangerous  adventure,  for  they  could 
not  expect  to  find  any  inhabitants  in  that  region  except 
savages ;  but  the  two  leaders  assumed  all  the  risk  themselves. 
The  men  were  left  in  the  canoes,  and  strictly  cautioned  to 
beware  of  a  surprise,  while  M.  Joliet  and  the  father  went 
ashore  and  pursued  the  course  of  the  path.  After  walking 
a  distance  of  about  six  miles  they  discovered  a  village  on 
the  bank  of  the  river  that  came  from  the  west,  and  about 
a  mile  and  a  half  further  on  they  could  see  two  other  towns 
on  a  hill.  Then  commending  themselves  to  God,  and  im- 
ploring His  help  in  case  of  danger,  they  drew  so  near  to 
the  first  village  that  they  could  hear  the  Indians  talking, 
Deeming  it  imprudent  to  advance  any  further  without  an- 
nouncing themselves,  they  now  called  out  in  a  loud  voice, 
and  awaited  the  result.  Instantly  the  inhabitants  all  rushed 
out  of  their  cabins,  when  perceiving  that  there  were  but  two 
strangers,  and  therefore  no  cause  for  apprehension,  they 
deputed  four  of  their  old  men  to  come  and  speak  with  them. 
Two  of  the  men  carried  tobacco-pipes,  trimmed  and  adorned 
with  many  kinds  of  feathers;  and  as  they  slowly  advanced 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

the  pipes  were  lifted  toward  the  sun,  as  if  inviting  that  deity 
to  witness  their  good  intentions.  They  spoke  not  a  single 
word,  but  used  so  much  ceremony  that  they  were  a  long  time 
in  passing  over  the  short  distance  between  the  village  and 
the  strangers.  Having  at  last  reached  the  Frenchmen,  they 
stopped  and  considered  them  attentively  for  some  time  in 
perfect  silence,  but  with  an  aspect  that  indicated  friendliness. 
Seeing  by  these  ceremonies  that  no  harm  was  intended, 
Marquette  addressed  them  in  the  Algonquin  dialect,  inquir- 
ing what  nation  they  belonged  to.  They  answered  that  they 
were  Illinois,  and  in  token  of  peace  offered  their  pipes  to 
smoke.  These  pipes,  as  Marquette  remarks,  were  called 
calumets,  a  name  which  he  would  have  to  use  frequently 
in  order  to  be  understood ;  and  as  he  was  the  first  to  employ 
the  term,  we  are  indebted  to  this  excellent  father  for  the 
addition  of  this  word  to  our  language. 

The  old  men  now  invited  the  strangers  to  their  village, 
where  all  the  tribe  were  impatiently  awaiting  them.  As 
they  approached  the  cabin  where  they  were  to  be  received 
they  observed  an  old  man  standing  in  the  door  in  a  very 
remarkable  posture,  waiting  to  extend  to  them  the  welcome 
of  his  people.  He  was  perfectly  naked,  with  his  hands 
stretched  out  toward  the  sun,  as  if  communing  with  that 
luminary,  while  the  rays  passing  through  his  fingers  fell 
in  a  flood  of  light  on  his  upturned  face.  When  they  came 
near  him,  he  paid  them  this  compliment,  with  all  the  dignity 
of  manner  and  diction  that  might  have  characterized  the 

372 


INTERIOR  OF  AN  ILLINOIS  CHIEF'S  CABIN. 

E  Illinois  Indians  which  comprised  Dakotas  and  Algonquins  were  suh- 
divided  into  six  tribes  but  were  united  into  one  confederacy,  and  as  such 
they  were  allies  of  the  French  in  the  war  with  England,  1760-63.  The  word  in 
the  Algonquin  tongue  means  "superior  people,"  a  designation  to  which  they 
were  entitled  for  several  reasons.  They  were  powerful  in  numbers,  brave,  and 
yet  hospitable  to  a  degree,  and  especially  so  to  Father  Marquette  and  other  early 
explorers.  They  also  lived  more  comfortably  than  other  tribes  at  the  time,  their 
cabins  as  a  rule  being  constructed  of  logs,  and  were  commodious  as  well  as  sub- 
stantial, as  the  admirable  illustrations  shows. 


,  'ke  not 
were  a 

.  jfeiti  etwffn  afir^l 

^ 

i 
• 

. 

"Itlt  I)!1E    3»9Mp1sl/   - 

<f\B  l(3flT       .Rir 
-du.Ml 

,twon«  «noi»6i)«i'lii  slciBiirnbi;  snt  *• 

' 

re  to  be  rec 

• 
• 

. 


THE  DEPARTURE  FROM  MACKINAW 

men  of  patriarchal  days :  "  How  beautiful  is  the  sun,  O 
Frenchman,  when  thou  comest  to  visit  us!  All  our  town 
awaits  thee,  and  thou  shalt  enter  all  our  cabins  in  peace." 
He  then  took  them  within  his  house,  where  there  was  a 
great  crowd  of  people,  who  devoured  them  with  their  eyes, 
but  maintained  the  most  respectful  silence.  Occasionally, 
however,  they  uttered  the  words,  in  low  tones,  as  if 
speaking  to  themselves,  "  Well  done,  brothers,  to  visit 
us! " 

As  soon  as  the  strangers  were  seated  the  calumet  was 
passed  to  them ;  and  seeing  that  they  were  expected  to  smoke, 
they  gravely  made  the  pretense  of  doing  so;  for  to  refuse 
would  have  been  regarded  as  a  discourteous  or  unfriendly 
act.  The  pipe  was  then  passed  in  turn  to  all  the  old  men 
and  chiefs,  and  while  they  smoked  messengers  arrived  from 
the  head  chief  or  king,  who  resided  in  one  of  the  other  towns, 
inviting  the  Frenchmen  to  visit  him.  They  set  out,  there- 
fore, attended  by  a  retinue  of  nearly  the  entire  village;  for 
these  people  had  never  before  seen  a  white  man,  and  they 
could  not  tire  of  looking  at  them.  So  they  threw  themselves 
on  the  grass  by  the  wayside,  or  ran  ahead,  and  turning  came 
back  facing  them,  in  order  to  get  a  better  view ;  but  all  this 
was  done  quietly  and  with  every  mark  of  courtesy  and  re- 
spect. 

On  arriving  at  the  head  sachem's  town  they  observed 
him  standing  in  his  cabin  door,  between  two  old  men,  hold- 
ing the  calumet  of  peace  toward  the  sun.  All  were  entirely 

375 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

nude,  but  their  conduct  and  bearing  were  so  natural  and 
dignified  that  this  did  not  seem  out  of  place.  The  chief 
presented  the  strangers  with  the  pipe  and  asked  them  to 
smoke,  and  addressing  them  a  few  words  of  welcome  he 
led  them  into  his  cabin,  where  they  found  many  of  the  peo- 
ple assembled.  The  same  ceremonies  and  greetings  which 
had  taken  place  at  the  other  village  were  now  repeated,  at 
the  conclusion  of  which  Marquette  arose  and  addressed  the 
assembly.  Having  made  them  four  presents  to  indicate  the 
meaning  of  his  words,  he  told  them  by  the  first  that  he  and 
his  companions  were  marching  in  peace  to  visit  the  nations 
on  the  river  to  the  sea;  by  the  second  he  declared  that  God 
their  Creator  had  pity  on  them,  since  after  having  been 
so  long  ignorant  of  him,  he  wished  to  become  known  to 
all  nations;  that  he  had  been  sent  on  his  behalf  with  this 
design,  and  that  it  was  for  them  to  acknowledge  and  obey 
him;  by  the  third  he  informed  them  that  it  was  the  wish 
of  the  great  chief  of  the  French  that  peace  should  spread 
everywhere,  and  that  he  had  already  overcome  the  Iroquois ; 
and  by  the  fourth  he  begged  them  to  give  him  and  his  com- 
panions all  the  information  they  had  of  the  sea,  and  of  the 
nations  through  which  they  must  pass  to  reach  it. 

The  reply  of  the  sachem  was  a  superb  piece  of  compli- 
mentary eloquence.  Arising  from  his  seat  on  the  ground 
he  placed  his  hand  on  the  head  of  a  little  slave  that  he  was 
about  to  present  to  them,  and  then  proceeded  in  the  follow- 
ing measured  terms :  "  I  thank  thee,  Blackgown,  and  thee, 

376 


THE  DEPARTURE  FROM  MACKINAW 

Frenchman,"  addressing  M.  Joliet,  "  for  taking  so  much 
pains  to  come  and  visit  us ;  never  has  the  earth  been  so  beau- 
tiful nor  the  sun  so  bright  as  to-day;  never  has  our  river 
been  so  calm,  nor  so  free  from  rocks,  which  your  canoes 
have  removed  as  they  passed;  never  has  our  tobacco  been 
so  fine  in  flavor,  nor  our  corn  appeared  so  beautiful  as  we 
behold  it  to-day.  Here  is  my  son,  that  I  give  thee,  that 
thou  mayest  know  my  heart.  I  pray  thee  take  pity  on 
me  and  all  my  nation.  Thou  knowest  the  Great  Spirit  who 
has  made  us  all ;  thou  speakest  to  him  and  hearest  his  word ; 
ask  him  to  give  me  life  and  health,  and  come  and  dwell 
with  us,  that  we  may  know  him."  At  the  conclusion  of 
the  speech  he  presented  them  with  the  little  slave ;  and  then 
with  great  ceremony  and  several  mysterious  incantations  he 
gave  them  an  all-powerful  calumet,  the  pipe  of  peace,  which 
was  to  guide  them  safely  through  all  their  dangers,  and 
which  the  Indians  prized  far  above  a  slave.  This  present 
was  intended  to  show  the  great  respect  which  the  chief  en- 
tertained for  the  governor  of  the  French,  and  the  gratitude 
he  felt  for  the  interest  he  had  taken  in  them,  by  sending 
such  honorable  representatives  to  visit  him.  But  he  begged 
the  travelers,  on  behalf  of  his  whole  nation,  not  to  proceed 
further,  on  account  of  the  dangers  which  they  would  en- 
counter. 

To  this  Marquette  replied  that  he  did  not  fear  death,  that 
he  esteemed  no  happiness  greater  than  that  of  losing  his 
life  for  the  glory  of  God ;  but  he  observed  that  this  exalted 

377. 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

idea  of  benevolence  did  not  reach  the  understanding  of  his 
auditors. 

The  council  was  followed  by  a  grand  feast,  in  four  courses, 
the  description  of  which  will  be  all  the  more  interesting  by 
giving  it  in  the  father's  own  language:  "The  first  course 
was  a  great  wooden  dish  full  of  sagamity,  that  is  to  say, 
of  Indian  meal  boiled  in  water  and  seasoned  with  grease. 
The  master  of  ceremonies,  with  a  spoonful  of  sagamity  pre- 
sented it  three  or  four  times  to  my  mouth,  as  we  would  do 
a  little  child ;  he  did  the  same  to  M.  Joliet.  For  the  second 
course  he  brought  in  a  dish  containing  three  fish;  he  took 
some  pains  to  remove  the  bones,  and  having  blown  upon 
it  to  cool  it,  put  it  in  my  mouth,  as  we  would  food  to 
a  bird ;  for  the  third  course  they  produced  a  large  dog  which 
they  had  just  killed,  but  learning  that  we  did  not  eat  it, 
it  was  withdrawn.  Finally,  the  fourth  course  was  a  piece 
of  wild  ox,  the  fattest  portions  of  which  were  put  into  our 
mouths." 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  feast  they  were  required  to  visit 
the  whole  village,  which  consisted  of  about  three  hundred 
cabins;  and  as  they  passed  through  the  streets  they  were 
preceded  by  an  orator  who  constantly  haranguefl  the  people, 
admonishing  them  to  see  the  strangers  without  making 
themselves  troublesome.  While  these  ceremonies  were  tire- 
some they  were  so  evidently  sincere  that  the  strangers  could 
not  fail  to  be  impressed  by  them.  Wherever  they  went  men 
and  women  came  out  of  their  cabins  and  presented  them  with 

378 


THE  DEPARTURE  FROM  MACKINAW 

belts,  garters,  and  other  articles  made  of  the  hair  of  the  bear 
and  the  buffalo,  dyed  in  various  colors.  These  were  great 
rarities  with  the  savage  people,  but  as  they  could  be  of  no 
service  to  the  travelers  they  returned  them  to  the  donors, 
giving  them  to  understand,  however,  that  their  kindness  was 
highly  appreciated. 

After  sleeping  that  night  in  the  sachem's  cabin  they  re- 
turned the  next  morning  to  their  canoes,  attended  by  the 
chief  and  more  than  six  hundred  of  his  people,  who  watched 
them  as  they  embarked,  evincing  in  many  ways  the  pleasure 
they  had  derived  from  their  visit. 

The  river  on  which  this  sachem's  villages  were  situated 
was  the  Des  Moines,  and  on  departing  Marquette  assured 
the  people  who  had  come  to  bid  them  farewell  that  he  would 
return  the  next  year,  to  stay  with  them  and  instruct  them. 
This  he  had  resolved  to  do,  intending  to  establish  a  mission 
there;  but  providence  ruled  otherwise,  and  he  never  again 
had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  his  good  friends. 

The  father  relates  many  interesting  particulars  concern- 
ing this  tribe,  which  was  a  branch  of  the  great  Illinois  na- 
tion. The  Illinois  as  a  people  were  much  less  barbarous 
than  the  other  Western  Indians,  a  fact  that  induced  many 
Frenchmen  to  establish  themselves  among  them  as  traders; 
and  quite  a  number  of  these  Prenchmen  married  Indian 
wives,  to  whom  they  remained  faithful.  The  Illinois  were 
of  a  lively  disposition,  with  a  keen  appreciation  of  humor, 
and  they  had  the  capacity  of  employing  raillery  in  a  very 

379 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

ingenious  and  effective  manner.  Their  wigwams  were  made 
of  mats  of  plaited  reeds,  which  the  women  and  girls  sewed 
together  so  ingeniously  that  while  new  they  were  impervious 
to  the  rain.  They  also  manufactured  many  articles  from 
the  hair  of  the  bear  and  buffalo,  the  latter  being  as  useful 
to  them  as  the  wool  of  the  sheep  to  civilized  nations.  Be- 
sides belts,  bands,  sacks  and  other  articles,  they  wove  it  into 
a  very  good  quality  of  cloth ;  though  having  neither  looms 
nor  spindles  this  class  of  manufacture  was  necessarily  lim- 
ited. Long  belts  of  deer  and  buffalo  skins  were  worn  over 
the  left  shoulder  and  passed  around  the  waist,  ending  in 
a  fringe  at  the  side.  They  also  adorned  themselves  with 
bands  of  fur  around  the  arms,  knees  and  wrists,  and  with 
knee-rattles  made  of  the  hoofs  of  the  deer.  The  latter  were 
worn  especially  in  battle,  for  the  purpose  of  frightening  the 
enemy.  Like  other  savages,  they  painted  their  faces  and 
bodies  with  a  view  of  rendering  themselves  more  attractive 
to  their  friends,  or  more  terrible  to  their  enemies.  On  going 
to  war  they  painted  themselves  red;  when  mourning  for 
friends  and  relatives,  black;  and  on  other  occasions  they 
smeared  their  faces  and  bodies  with  a  variety  of  fantas- 
tic colors,  which  they  manifested  a  good  deal  of  skill  in 
mixing. 

Polygamy,  with  all  its  accompanying  evils,  existed  among 
this  nation.  The  men  had  many  wives,  of  whom  they  were 
extremely  jealous;  they  watched  them  carefully,  and  at  the 
least  suspicion  of  infidelity  they  cut  off  their  nose  or  ears. 

380 


THE  DEPARTURE  FROM  MACKINAW 

Marquette  saw  a  number  of  women  mutilated  in  that  shock- 
ing manner. 

As  a  race  they  were  well-formed,  nimble,  and  very  adroit 
in  the  use  of  the  bow  and  spear.  They  possessed  a  few 
guns  also,  which  they  had  procured  from  other  tribes  in 
alliance  with  the  French.  These  were  employed  mainly  to 
frighten  their  enemies  by  the  noise  and  smoke,  for  they  were 
not  expert  in  their  use.  The  Sioux,  and  several  other  na- 
tions to  the  southwest  and  south,  were  not  familiar  with 
firearms;  and  it  was  the  custom  of  the  Illinois  to  raid  their 
territory  for  slaves,  with  whom  they  carried  on  an  extensive 
traffic  with  other  tribes  who  traded  with  Europeans,  for 
goods  of  various  kinds.  When  a  war  party  was  about  to 
set  out  all  the  braves  were  notified,  the  evening  and  morning 
before  the  time  fixed  for  their  departure,  by  loud  cries  at 
the  doors  of  their  cabins;  and  any  who  failed  to  respond, 
without  a  good  excuse,  were  branded  as  cowards  and  there- 
after held  in  contempt  by  all  the  tribe,  until  they  redeemed 
themselves  by  some  brave  act.  The  chiefs  were  distinguished 
from  the  warriors  by  bright-colored  scarfs  made  of  bear's- 
hair  and  buffalo-wool,  and  worn  in  the  manner  already  de- 
scribed. 

They  lived  mainly  on  game,  which  was  abundant  in  their 
country ;  but  they  also  raised  a  plentiful  supply  of  corn,  and 
by  way  of  variety  they  cultivated  beans  and  melons.  The 
latter  were  very  fine,  especially  those  with  a  red  seed.  They 
also  raised  an  inferior  quality  of  squash,  of  which  they  were 

381 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

very  fond,  cutting  them  into  strips  and  drying  them  in  the 
sun  for  use  in  the  winter  and  spring  when  other  articles 
of  food  were  scarce. 

Their  cabins  were  large  and  very  comfortable,  the  floors 
and  sides  being  covered  with  rush  mats,  to  exclude  the  cold. 
They  had  a  great  variety  of  wooden  dishes,  in  which  their 
food  was  served,  and  eaten  with  spoons  of  buffalo  bone,  the 
latter  being  neatly  carved  and  hollowed  in  the  bowl  so  as 
to  lift  any  kind  of  liquid. 

Their  cloiaing  was  made  almost  entirely  of  skins ;  the  wo- 
men dressed  decently  and  with  a  good  deal  of  taste,  but  in 
summer-time  the  men  went  entirely  nude,  though  covering 
themselves  in  winter  with  buffalo  robes  and  bear  skins,  which 
were  frequently  ornamented  with  the  rich  furs  of  the  beaver 
and  marten. 

A  very  singular  custom,  which  prevailed  among  the  Illi- 
nois as  well  as  other  tribes,  is  thus  noticed  by  Marquette: 
"  Through  what  superstition  I  know  not,  some  Illinois,  as 
well  as  some  Nadouessi,  while  yet  young  assume  the  female 
dress  and  keep  it  all  their  life.  There  is  some  mystery  about 
it,  for  they  never  marry,  and  glory  in  debasing  themselves 
to  do  all  that  is  done  by  women ;  yet  they  go  to  war,  though 
allowed  to  use  only  a  club,  and  not  the  bow  and  arrow,  the 
peculiar  arm  of  men;  they  are  present  at  all  the  juggleries 
and  solemn  dances  in  honor  of  the  calumet;  they  are  per- 
mitted to  sing,  but  not  to  dance;  they  attend  the  councils, 
and  nothing  can  be  decided  without  their  advice ;  finally,  by 

382 


THE  DEPARTURE  FROM  MACKINAW 

the  profession  of  an  extraordinary  life,  they  pass  for  mani- 
tous  (that  is,  for  genii),  or  persons  of  consequence."  This 
was  the  most  abominable  custom  that  prevailed  among  the 
American  Indians,  being  nothing  less  than  sodomy  in  its 
vilest  form;  and  it  may  be  presumed  that  men  could  not 
have  been  induced  to  so  debase  themselves  except  for  the 
honor  of  being  regarded  as  manitous,  as  explained  by  the 
father. 

Marquette's  description  of  the  calumet  is  not  only  highly 
interesting,  but  it  gives  us  the  most  accurate  information 
we  possess  concerning  the  uses  of  that  implement  and  the 
veneration  with  which  it  was  regarded.  "  It  now  only  re- 
mains for  me  to  speak  of  the  calumet,"  he  says,  "  than  which 
there  is  nothing  among  them  more  mysterious  or  more  es- 
teemed. Men  do  not  pay  to  the  crowns  and  scepters  of  kings 
the  honor  they  pay  to  it ;  it  seems  to  be  the  god  of  peace  and 
war,  the  arbiter  of  life  and  death.  Carry  it  about  you  and 
show  it  and  you  can  march  fearlessly  amid  enemies,  who 
even  in  the  heat  of  battle  lay  down  their  arms  when  it  is 
shown.  Hence  the  Illinois  gave  me  one,  to  serve  as  my 
safeguard  amid  all  the  nations  that  I  had  to  pass  on  my  voy- 
age. There  is  a  calumet  for  peace,  and  one  for  war,  dis- 
tinguished only  by  the  color  of  the  feathers  with  which  they 
are  adorned,  red  being  the  sign  of  war.  They  use  them  also 
for  settling  disputes,  strengthening  alliances,  and  speaking 
to  strangers."  The  calumet  of  peace  was  adorned  with  the 
feathers  of  the  white  eagle,  and  the  bearer  of  it  could  go 

383 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

where  he  pleased  in  perfect  safety,  for  it  was  held  sacred  by 
all  the  tribes.  The  one  presented  to  Marquette  was  made 
of  a  polished  red  stone,  like  marble,  so  pierced  that  one  end 
served  to  hold  the  tobacco  while  the  other  was  fastened  to 
the  stem,  a  stick  two  feet  in  length  and  thick  as  a  common 
cane.  This  stem  was  ornamented  from  end  to  end  with 
feathers  of  brilliant  colors,  though  white  predominated,  to 
show  that  it  was  a  calumet  of  peace. 

The  peculiar  veneration  with  which  all  the  tribes  regarded 
the  pipe  was  due  to  the  fact  that  it  was  the  special  emblem 
of  the  sun,  whose  light  and  warmth,  penetrating  the  earth, 
gave  life  to  all  things,  and  thus  became  the  chief  represen- 
tative of  their  ideas  of  creation.  Hence,  they  presented  the 
calumet  to  the  sun  on  all  occasions,  whether  to  obtain  calm, 
or  rain,  or  fair  weather;  to  secure  an  abundance  of  game, 
or  to  banish  sickness  from  their  homes.  They  would  not 
bathe  at  the  beginning  of  summer,  or  eat  new  fruits,  until 
they  had  danced  the  calumet  dance;  which  was  enacted  in 
the  following  manner : 

In  winter  the  ceremony  was  performed  in  a  cabin,  and 
in  summer  in  the  open  field.  A  place  was  selected  sur- 
rounded by  trees,  whose  foliage  protected  both  the  dancers 
and  the  auditors.  In  this  and  some  other  respects  the  forms 
resembled  those  of  the  ancient  Druids,  from  whom  it  may 
have  been  borrowed.  In  the  middle  of  the  space  they  spread 
a  large  mat  of  varied  colors,  to  serve  as  a  carpet,  on  which 
was  placed  the  god  or  manitou  of  the  person  who  gave  the 

384 


A  CALUMET  PIPE-DANCE. 

E  Calumet  pipe  was  a  symbol  used  by  nearly  ail  Indian  tribes,  both  of  war 
and  of  peace.  When  adorned  with  white  feathers  the  pipe  signified  peace, 
and  when  embellished  with  red  feathers  it  indicated  war.  This  served  them  in 
a  single  sense  as  a  universal  language,  and  the  symbol  was  held  so  sacredly  that 
it  was  never  under  any  circumstances,  abused.  The  Calumet  pipe  dance  was  a 
ceremony  performed  both  when  going  to  war  and  in  concluding  treaties  of  peace, 
occasions  in  which  whule  tribes  participated  with  great  enthusiasm. 


'..v-^w- 

• 

. 


nade 
:hat  one 


a  cabin,  and 
£ 


dance;  for  each  individual  had  his  own  manitou,  such  as  a 
snake,  a  bird,  or  some  animal  of  which  he  had  dreamed  in 
his  sleep,  and  in  which  they  put  all  their  trust  for  success 
in  war,  fishing,  or  hunting.  On  the  carpet  to  the  right  of 
the  manitou  they  placed  the  calumet,  and  formed  around 
it  a  trophy  of  the  arms  used  by  the  tribe,  such  as  the  bow, 
hatchet,  quiver,  arrows,  etc. 

The  hour  for  the  dance  having  arrived,  those  who  were 
to  sing  took  their  stations  in  the  most  honorable  places  under 
the  foliage;  these  were  men  and  women  who  had  the  finest 
voices,  which  by  practise  they  had  learned  to  accord  perfectly. 
As  the  spectators  arrived  they  took  their  places  in  a  circle 
beyond  the  space  allotted  to  the  singers  and  the  dancers, 
each  in  turn  saluting  the  manitou.  This  was  done  by  taking 
the  calumet  respectfully  in  both  hands  and  making  it  dance 
in  cadence,  the  performer  suiting  himself  to  the  air  of  the 
song.  Sometimes  it  was  made  to  go  through  various  fig- 
ures, in  representation  of  living  creatures,  being  shown  mean- 
while to  the  whole  assembly  by  turning  it  from  side  to  side. 
When  all  this  had  been  enacted,  the  performer  closed  his 
part  of  the  ceremony  by  drawing  a  few  whiffs  of  smoke  and 
exhaling  them  through  the  mouth,  as  if  offering  incense. 

The  chief  dancer  at  length  appeared  in  the  midst  of  the 
company,  and  taking  the  calumet  in  his  hands  he  led  the 
procession  of  all  the  people  around  the  whole  space,  at  the 
same  time  presenting  the  pipe  to  the  sun  as  if  he  wished  it 
to  smoke;  or  he  inclined  it  to  the  earth,  or  spread  its  wings, 

387 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

as  if  to  fly ;  and  at  other  times  he  presented  it  to  the  mouths 
of  the  spectators.  All  this  was  done  in  perfect  time  and 
cadence,  the  whole  audience  meanwhile  singing  and  dancing 
in  procession.  This  was  the  first  scene  of  what  might  be 
called  the  ballet. 

Then  came  the  combat,  in  which  the  one  who  gave  the 
dance  was  the  chief  performer.  Now  the  drums  were  beat, 
the  singers  harmonizing  their  voices  to  the  martial  music, 
while  the  master  of  ceremonies,  taking  his  place  in  the  center 
of  the  open  space,  challenged  some  warrior  in  the  crowd  to 
battle  with  him.  The  latter  approached,  with  bow  and  ar- 
rows, to  fight  the  challenger,  who  had  no  defense  but  the 
calumet.  The  whole  performance  now  resembled  a  mimic 
battle,  every  movement  being  in  time  with  the  music  of  the 
drum  and  the  voices  of  the  singers.  One  of  the  combatants 
attacks,  and  the  other  defends ;  one  flies,  the  other  pursues ; 
then  the  action  is  reversed,  and  he  who  had  retreated  puts 
his  enemy  to  flight.  This  ends  the  battle,  the  victory  being 

always  on  the  side  of  the  calumet. 

t 

The  victor  now  addresses  the  audience,  relating  the  battles 
he  has  participated  in,  and  the  victories  he  has  won ;  he  names 
the  nations,  the  places,  the  number  of  captives  he  has  taken ; 
and  as  a  reward  he  is  presented  with  a  beautiful  beaver  robe. 
After  this,  other  performers  take  their  place  in  turn,  the 
calumet  is  once  more  carried  in  procession  around  the  circle, 
and  another  mimic  battle  is  fought,  until  the  day  expires,  or 
all  the  warriors  have  participated. 

388 


DIVISION  XVIII. 

Continuing  the  Journey  Down  the  Mississippi. 


IT  was  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  near  the  end  of 
June,  when  the  travelers  pushed  their  canoes  into  the  river 
and  bade  farewell  to  their  friends,  the  Illinois.  The  Indians 
expressed  the  greatest  admiration  for  the  little  vessels,  so 
different  from  anything  they  had  ever  seen;  for,  having  no 
birch  in  their  country,  all  their  boats  were  made  by  hollow- 
ing out  logs.  These  log  canoes  were  clumsy  and  unwieldy, 
comparing  with  those  made  of  birch  bark  like  a  plodding  ox 
to  a  mettled  race-horse. 

As  the  voyageurs  floated  down  the  river  they  found  an 
abundance  of  mulberries,  as  large  as  any  they  had  ever  seen 
in  France;  and  a  small  fruit  which  they  at  first  supposed  to 
be  olives,  but  which  had  a  bitter  taste  like  the  wild  orange. 
This  was  the  well-known  crab-apple,  that  grows  so  abund- 
antly in  all  this  region.  Another  fruit  which  they  found  is 
thus  described  by  Marquette,  which  though  he  exaggerates 
the  size  will  be  recognized  as  the  persimmon :  "  It  was  as 
large  as  a  hen's  egg;  we  broke  it  in  half  and  found  two  sep- 
arations, in  each  of  which  were  encased  eight  or  ten  seeds 
shaped  like  an  almond,  which  are  quite  good  when  ripe. 
The  tree  which  bears  them  has,  however,  a  very  bad  smell, 

389 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

and  its  leaf  resembles  that  of  the  walnut."  The  father's 
information  concerning  the  persimmon  being  good  when 
ripe  was  obtained,  of  course,  from  the  natives,  or  his  guides ; 
for  at  that  time  it  was  green,  and  when  in  that  state  one 
cannot  imagine  a  more  undesirable  fruit.  He  also  refers  to 
another  "  fruit  "  resembling  filberts,  but  more  tender,  spring- 
ing from  a  stalk  crowned  at  the  top  like  a  sunflower  in  which 
the  nuts  were  neatly  arranged.  These  nuts,  he  was  told, 
were  very  good  to  eat  either  cooked  or  raw;  and  it  is  true 
that  they  constituted  a  very  important  item  of  food  among 
the  Indians,  though  they  are  not  now  regarded  as  edible. 
This  was  the  chinkapin,  sometimes  called  chonkapin,  which 
renders  the  swamps  and  marshes  of  some  portions  of  our 
country  so  brilliant  in  the  spring  of  the  year  with  its  splen- 
did flowers  of  varied  colors. 

At  length,  after  having  passed  the  Illinois  river  without 
observing  it,  on  account  of  an  island  which  screens  its  mouth 
from  the  view  of  any  one  descending  the  Mississippi,  they 
came  to  a  painted  monster  on  some  high  rocks,  which  the 
father  thus  describes :  "  As  we  coasted  along  rocks  frightful 
for  their  height  and  length,  we  saw  two  monsters  painted  on 
one  of  these  rocks,  which  startled  us  at  first,  and  on  which 
the  boldest  Indians  dare  not  gaze  long.  They  are  as  large 
as  a  calf,  with  horns  on  the  head  like  a  deer,  fearful  look,  red 
eyes,  bearded  like  a  tiger,  the  face  somewhat  like  a  man's,  the 
body  covered  with  scales,  and  the  tail  so  long  that  it  twice 
makes  the  turn  of  the  body,  passing  over  the  head  and  down 

390 


between  the  legs,  and  ending  at  last  in  a  fish's  tail.  On  the 
whole  these  two  monsters  are  so  well  painted,  that  we  could 
not  believe  any  Indian  to  have  been  the  designer,  as  good 
painters  in  France  would  find  it  hard  to  do  so  well ;  besides 
this,  they  are  so  high  up  on  the  rock  that  it  is  hard  to  get 
conveniently  at  them  to  paint." 

These  were  the  famous  Painted  Rocks  of  Piasa  Bluffs, 
a  short  distance  above  the  town  of  Alton,  111.  There  are  per- 
sons still  living  who  claim  to  have  seen  the  paintings,  though 
they  are  not  now  visible,  having  faded  out  of  view  during  the 
two  and  a  quarter  centuries  since  Marquette  so  graphically 
described  them.  The  location,  however,  is  still  preserved 
in  the  name  of  the  Painted  Rock.  It  is  claimed  that  cen- 
turies ago  a  party  of  Illinois  were  defeated  near  this  place  by 
the  Iroquois,  who  drove  them  over  the  rock  into  the  river; 
and  that  some  time  afterward  an  Indian  artist  painted  the 
monsters  in  commemoration  of  the  event.  This  may  or 
may  not  be  the  true  story  of  the  incident ;  but  the  existence 
of  the  paintings  as  described  by  Marquette  cannot  be  doubted. 
It  was  these  frightful  figures  or  demons  that  the  Wild  Oats 
Indians  referred  to  when  they  endeavored  to  dissuade  the 
father  from  undertaking  his  perilous  journey;  and  the  fact 
of  their  being  so  widely  known  among  the  savage  tribes  of 
the  valley  is  another  proof  of  their  existence,  if  any  were 
needed. 

Soon  after  passing  the  Painted  Rocks  the  travelers  had 
another  experience  which  confirmed  some  of  the  tales  of 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

horror  that  had  been  told  them  by  the  Indians.  Again  let 
us  adopt  the  father's  own  picturesque  language :  "  As  we 
were  discoursing  them  (the  painted  rocks),  sailing  gently 
down  a  beautiful,  still,  clear  water,  we  heard  the  noise  of  a 
rapid  into  which  we  were  about  to  fall.  I  have  seen  nothing 
more  frightful ;  a  mass  of  large  trees,  entire,  with  branches, 
real  floating  islands,  came  rushing  from  the  mouth  of  the 
river  Pekitanoui  so  impetuously  that  we  could  not,  without 
great  danger,  expose  ourselves  to  pass  across.  The  agita- 
tion was  so  great  that  the  water  was  all  muddy  and  could  not 
get  clear." 

The  reader  will  of  course  recognize  in  this  description  the 
Missouri,  where  it  empties  into  the  Mississippi,  the  Indian 
name  which  the  father  uses  meaning  "  muddy  water."  Mar- 
quette  learned  from  natives  in  the  vicinity  that  there  were 
many  towns  of  their  people  along  this  river,  which  flowed  far 
toward  the  northwest,  where,  after  a  short  portage  across  a 
beautiful  prairie,  there  was  another  river  that  emptied  into 
the  sea.  This  was  about  as  correct  information  as  the  In- 
dians ever  gave,  for  if  one  ascends  the  Missouri  to  its  head 
he  will  find  that  a  short  portage  thence — across  mountains, 
however,  instead  of  a  beautiful  prairie — will  bring  him  to  the 
head  waters  of  Snake  river,  which  flows  into  the  Columbia; 
and  the  Columbia,  as  we  all  know,  empties  into  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  Referring  to  the  distant  sea  of  which  the  Indians 
told  him,  father  Marquette  writes :  "  I  have  hardly  any 
doubt  that  this  is  the  Red  Sea,  and  I  do  not  despair  of  one 

392 


CONTINUING  DOWN   THE  MISSISSIPPI 

day  making  the  discovery,  if  God  does  me  this  favor  and 
grants  me  health  in  order  to  be  able  to  publish  the  gospel  to 
all  the  nations  of  this  new  world  who  have  so  long  been 
plunged  in  heathen  darkness." 

After  passing  the  Missouri,  the  next  adventure  that  the 
travelers  met  with  was  in  a  small  bay  or  eddy  some  distance 
above  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio.  Here  it  was  that  the  Indians 
said  a  demon  troubled  the  waters  and  devoured  all  who  at- 
tempted to  pass.  The  place  is  thus  described  by  Marquette : 
"  The  devil  is  this — a  small  bay,  full  of  rocks,  some  twenty 
feet  high,  where  the  current  of  the  river  is  whirled;  hurled 
back  against  that  which  follows,  and  checked  by  a  neighbor- 
ing island,  the  mass  of  water  is  forced  through  a  narrow 
channel ;  all  this  is  not  done  without  a  furious  combat  of  the 
waters  tumbling  over  each  other,  nor  without  a  great  roar- 
ing, which  strikes  terror  into  the  Indians,  who  fear  every- 
thing." 

But  this  dreadful  whirlpool  or  eddy  did  not  prevent  them 
from  passing  on  in  safety  to  the  Ohio,  the  "  Beautiful  River  " 
of  the  Iroquois,  to  which  the  father  applies  a  local  Indian 
name  which  he  spells  in  this  peculiar  manner,  "  8ab8kig8." 
This  was  subsequently  translated  into  Ouabache,  and  now 
appears  in  the  modern  form  of  Wabash.  For  some  years 
after  its  discovery  by  Joliet  and  Marquette,  the  Ohio  was 
known  as  the  Ouabache  by  the  French,  but  when  they  began 
to  found  colonies  on  its  banks  they  adopted  the  Iroquois  title 
and  called  it  "  La  Belle  Riviere/' 

393 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

Very  little  is  said  by  the  father  concerning  this  river, 
except  a  mere  reference  to  the  beauty  of  its  placid  waters,  and 
a  statement  that  it  flows  from  the  east  through  a  country 
inhabited  by  a  people  called  Chaouanons,  meaning  the  Shaw- 
nees.  These  Indians  were  a  branch  of  the  Kickapoo  nation, 
and  from  them  the  great  Tecumseh  sprang.  Marquette 
declares  they  were  so  numerous  at  the  time  of  which  he  wrote 
that  they  occupied  as  many  as  twenty-three  villages  in  one 
district,  and  fifteen  in  another,  lying  very  near  each  other 
on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio.  But  they  were  not  a  warlike  peo- 
ple, and  allowed  themselves  to  be  taken  and  carried  off  like 
sheep  by  the  Iroquois,  who  killed  and  tortured  many  of  them 
and  finally  drove  the  remainder  to  the  banks  of  the  Cum- 
berland, and  some  fled  even  as  far  as  the  Carolinas  and 
Florida. 

Soon  after  passing  the  Ohio  they  came  into  the  region 
of  the  wild  cane,  which  grew  in  clusters  along  the  banks  of 
the  river  so  thick  that  the  buffaloes  found  it  very  difficult 
to  make  their  way  through  them.  This  was  the  region  of 
west  Tennessee,  which  David  Crockett  made  so  famous  at  a 
later  period  by  his  marvelous  bear  stories.  Bears  are  still 
to  be  found  in  that  section,  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  and  in 
Marquette' s  time  they  were  very  numerous. 

The  father  now  observes  that  they  had  entered  the  mos- 
quito country,  and  were  greatly  troubled  by  the  venomous 
little  insects,  none  of  which  had  they  seen  above  that  point. 
The  Indians  protected  themselves  from  this  intolerable  pest 

394 


CONTINUING  DOWN  THE  MISSISSIPPI 

in  a  very  ingenious  manner.  They  built  a  scaffolding  of 
poles  several  feet  high,  on  which  they  laid  a  floor  of  cane 
reeds,  and  two  or  three  feet  above  this  they  spread  sheets  of 
bark  to  form  a  roof.  Then  building  a  fire  on  the  ground 
under  the  scaffolding  the  smoke  ascending  through  the  grate- 
work  of  their  aerial  house  and  drove  the  mosquitoes  away. 
These  sleeping  houses  afforded  them  relief  from  the  heat  of 
the  country,  as  well  as  the  insects,  for  they  were  raised  high 
enough  to  catch  the  breeze  that  always  blows  at  night  in 
those  regions.  The  travelers,  in  order  to  protect  themselves, 
made  a  sort  of  cabin  over  their  canoes  with  their  sails;  but 
the  mosquitoes  found  their  way  through  the  openings  and 
greatly  disturbed  their  rest  at  night.  Learning  from  the 
Indians  that  tobacco  smoke  would  drive  the  insects  away 
they  resorted  to  that  expedient,  filling  their  cabins  with  the 
fumes  of  the  weed  each  night  on  retiring.  This  had  the 
desired  effect,  and  thereafter  they  slept  in  peace. 

One  day  as  they  were  borne  along  by  the  current  of  the 
river,  they  were  alarmed  at  the  sight  of  a  large  band  of  In- 
dians on  the  shore,  armed  with  guns,  who  signe.d  to  them 
to  approach.  Marquette  presented  his  feathered  calumet, 
while  his  companions  seized  their  arms  and  prepared  to  re- 
sist in  case  of  an  attack.  The  father  also  hailed  them  in 
the  Huron  language,  announcing  that  they  were  friends  who 
had  come  to  visit  them ;  but  they  answered  with  a  word  that 
sounded  like  a  declaration  of  war.  It  soon  transpired,  how- 
ever, that  the  Indians  were  as  much  frightened  as  the  trav- 

395 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

elers,  and  the  ominous  word  which  they  uttered  was  an  in- 
vitation for  the  strangers  to  come  ashore  in  order  that  they 
might  give  them  food.  On  landing  they  were  taken  to  the 
cabins  of  this  hospitable  people,  who  set  before  them  dishes 
of  buffalo  meat  with  sagamity  and  bear's  oil,  and  an  excellent 
dessert  of  delicious  wild  plums.  No  people  could  have  been 
kinder  or  more  courteous,  and  they  seemed  exceedingly  solic- 
itous to  do  everything  in  their  power  for  the  comfort  of  the 
voyageurs  who  had  so  unexpectedly  become  their  guests. 
The  father  noticed  that  they  not  only  had  guns,  but  metal 
axes,  hoes,  and  knives,  and  that  they  kept  their  powder  in 
double  glass  bottles.  They  also  wore  a  profusion  of  beads, 
made  of  glass;  all  of  which  showed  their  connection  with 
some  European  nation.  The  men  wore  their  hair  long,  and 
marked  their  bodies  in  the  Iroquois  fashion  while  the  head- 
dress and  clothing  of  the  women  were  like  those  of  the 
Hurons. 

It  appears  that  these  people  were  a  war-party  of  the  Tus- 
carora  tribe,  and  therefore  not  permanent  dwellers  on 
the  Mississippi.  The  Tuscaroras  were  a  branch  of  the  Iro- 
quois, who  for  some  unknown  reason  had  migrated  to  the 
southeastern  part  of  North  Carolina  at  a  very  early  period. 
Like  their  kindred  of  New  York,  they  were  an  enterprising 
and  very  warlike  race,  and  were  constantly  making  forays 
into  the  territory  of  other  southern  tribes.  This  explains 
the  presence  of  one  of  their  war  parties  on  the  Mississippi 
at  the  time  of  which  we  are  writing.  Being  themselves  *in 

396 


CONTINUING  DOWN  THE  MISSISSIPPI 

an  enemy's  country,  they  were  careful  not  to  provoke  the 
strangers  and  thereby  increase  their  own  peril. 

As  they  employed  the  Iroquois  dialect,  Marquette  found 
that  he  could  converse  with  them,  since  he  understood 
many  of  the  words  of  that  tongue.  They  told  him  that  their 
country  lay  far  toward  the  east,  near  the  sea,  which  they 
said  was  ten  days'  distant ;  that  they  bought  their  arms,  im- 
plements, cloths,  and  other  articles,  from  white  men  who 
came  to  their  country  every  year  in  large  canoes  with  white 
wings,  to  trade  with  them.  These  white  men,  they  said,  had 
rosaries,  like  the  one  that  the  father  wore,  and  they  played 
on  musical  instruments ;  but  it  did  not  appear  that  they  had 
made  any  effort  to  instruct  the  Indians  in  the  Christian  reli- 
gion. All  this  led  the  travelers  to  infer  that  the  savages 
knew  the  Spaniards;  and  as  they  did  not  perfectly  under- 
stand them  regarding  the  location  of  their  country,  they  in- 
ferred that  the  distance  from  that  point  to  the  sea  was  not 
very  great.  They  accordingly  took  leave  of  their  hospitable 
friends  and  continued  their  journey  with  renewed  ardor, 
hoping  soon  to  reach  the  limit  of  their  travels. 

As  they  advanced  the  prairie  lands  gradually  disappeared, 
and  both  sides  of  the  river  became  lined  with  lofty  trees  and 
dense  forests  of  cottonwood,  sycamore  (which  the  father 
calls  white-wood),  oak,  elm,  and  other  timbers,  with  which 
they  were  not  familiar.  The  bellowing  of  the  wild  cattle, 
or  buffaloes,  which  they  frequently  heard  at  short  distances 
from  the  river,  led  them  to  believe  that  the  prairies  lay 

397 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

in  that  direction ;  and  indeed  it  is  quite  probable  that  exten- 
sive prairies  did  exist  in  the  Southern  country  at  that  time, 
in  sections  now  covered  with  woods  which  have  grown  up 
since  the  discontinuance  of  prarie  fires.  Quailss  were  so 
plentiful  that  they  came  down  to  trie  water's  edge,  and  were 
not  frightened  by  the  approach  of  the  canoes.  They  also 
killed  a  beautiful  little  bird,  with  half  the  head  red,  the  neck 
and  the  opposite  side  of  the  head  yellow,  and  the  body  green. 
This  was  the  paroquet,  which  the  father  calls  a  parrot,  be- 
cause the  species  was  known  by  that  name  in  his  country. 
They  constitute  a  very  large  and  extensive  family,  being 
found  in  nearly  all  parts  of  the  world,  though  differing  in 
appearance  and  characteristics  in  various  countries.  They 
were  so  numerous  in  the  early  settlement  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley  as  to  be  a  pest  in  the  farmers'  fields,  frequently  set- 
tling in  immense  flocks  on  the  corn  and  wheat.  They  are 
strikingly  beautiful,  and  when  seen  in  flocks  present  a  scene 
of  splendor  that  is  rarely  surpassed.  One  of  the  species, 
the  Alexander  paroquet,  is  so  called  because  it  is  said  that 
Alexander  the  Great  being  very  fond  of  this  bird  introduced 
it  into  Europe.  The  Greeks  and  Romans  were  so  attached 
to  paroquets  as  pets  that  they  kept  them  in  their  houses,  in 
highly  ornamented  cages;  and  they  are  frequently  men- 
tioned by  the  poets  and  writers  of  those  nations. 

At  length,  on  reaching  a  point  near  where  the  St.  Francis 
river  empties  into  the  Mississippi  they  perceived  a  village 
of  a  tribe  of  Indians  called  Mitchigamea,  who  showed  them- 

398 


CONTINUING  DOWN  THE  MISSISSIPPI 

selves  to  be  very  unfriendly.  In  fact  this  tribe  had  suffered 
at  the  hands  of  De  Soto  and  his  men  during  the  previous 
century,  and  traditions  of  the  cruelty  of  the  white  men  were 
treasured  by  them.  They  now  gathered  in  hostile  array  on 
the  bank  of  the  river,  indicating  by  their  actions  that  they 
were  disposed  to  visit  the  wrongs  of  their  ancestors  on  the 
newly  arrived.  They  were  armed  with  bows,  arrows,  axes, 
war-clubs,  and  bucklers ;  and  while  some  prepared  to  attack 
the  travelers  on  land,  others  embarked  in  large  wooden  canoes, 
and  separating  into  two  parties  above  and  below  completely 
surrounded  the  Frenchmen.  Those  on  the  shore  kept  rush- 
ing down  to  the  edge  of  the  water,  and  back  again,  as  if 
about  to  begin  the  assault;  and  several  young  men  actually 
sprang  into  the  water  and  attempted  to  seize  the  canoe  in 
which  the  father  was  seated;  but  the  current  sweeping  by 
compelled  them  to  return,  whereupon  one  of  them  threw  his 
war-club  at  them,  but  it  passed  harmlessly  over  their  heads. 
In  vain  Marquette  exhibited  his  calumet,  and  made  gestures 
to  explain  that  they  came  as  friends ;  either  the  Indians  could 
not  see  the  white  feathers  of  the  emblem  of  peace,  or  they 
did  not  understand  its  significance.  But  at  this  moment  of 
deadly  peril,  when  the  savages  were  about  to  pierce  ttfem 
with  their  arrows,  some  old  men  on  the  bank  recognized 
the  calumet,  and  instantly  restrained  the  ardor  of  the  young 
warriors.  Two  chiefs  now  threw  their  bows  and  arrows 
into  the  father's  canoe,  to  indicate  that  they  no  longer  en- 
tertained a  hostile  purpose,  and  laying  hold  of  the  little  ves- 

399 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

sel  they  drew  it  ashore,  where  all  the  party  were  invited  to 
disembark.  This  they  did  with  considerable  apprehension, 
for  the  danger  seemed  imminent;  but  having  been  led  to 
the  village,  they  were  treated  to  sagamity  and  fish,  and  in- 
vited to  spend  the  night  there.  All  signs  of  hostility  had 
by  this  time  disappeared,  but  the  travelers  spent  an  uneasy 
night  and  were  glad  to  depart  early  the  next  morning. 

These  Indians  could  not  speak  any  of  the  six  languages 
with  which  Marquette  was  familiar;  but  at  length  he  found 
an  old  man  who  understood  a  few  words  of  the  Illinois 
tongue,  and  to  him  he  related  the  object  of  their  journey, 
and  imparted  some  of  the  truths  of  his  religion — for  this 
good  father  never  let  an  opportunity  pass  to  plant  the  seed  of 
civilization.  "  But  I  know  not,"  he  said  quaintly,  "  whether 
they  understood  what  I  told  them  of  God,  and  the  things 
which  concerned  their  salvation.  It  is  seed  cast  in  the  earth, 
which  will  bear  its  fruit  in  season." 

The  Mitchigameas  were  a  very  warlike  race,  whose  prin- 
cipal village  at  that  time  was  situated  on  the  banks  of  a  lake 
near  the  St.  Francis  river.  They  subsequently  removed  to 
the  Kaskaskia  country,  where  they  fused  with  the  Illinois 
nation;  and  it  is  claimed  by  some  that  the  name  of  Lake 
Michigan  was  derived  from  them.  By  reason  of  their  con- 
solidation with  the  Illinois  at  a  very  early  date,  but  little 
is  known  concerning  them  as  a  separate  people. 

The  travelers  were  now  near  the  place  where  De  Soto  had 
died  and  Moscoso  had  fitted  out  his  little  fleet  of  brigan- 

400 


CONTINUING  DOWN   THE  MISSISSIPPI 

tines,  and  they  were  therefore  in  a  dangerous  country.  But 
the  smallness  of  their  numbers,  their  peaceful  attitude,  and 
the  influence  of  the  sacred  calumet  gave  them  security.  On 
leaving  the  town  of  the  Mitchigamea  they  were  preceded  by 
a  canoe  containing  ten  Indians,  who  led  the  way,  and  were 
to  act  as  interpreters  for  a  neighboring  tribe  called  the 
Akamsea,  from  whom  our  word  Arkansas  is  derived.  The 
Akamsea,  or  Arkansas,  as  we  might  as  well  call  them,  be- 
longed to  the  Dakota  family,  and  had  formerly  lived  in 
the  region  of  the  Alleghenies,  whence  it  appears  they  were 
driven  by  those  common  enemies  of  all  the  nations,  the  fierce 
Iroquois.  Settling  along  the  banks  of  the  Arkansas  river, 
they  flourished  and  became  a  great  nation,  and  always  re- 
mained friendly  with  the  French  and  other  Europeans.  The 
remnant  of  this  tribe  now  occupy  a  portion  of  Indian  Ter- 
ritory, where  they  are  known  as  Quapaws. 

When  the  travelers  came  within  half  a  league  of  the  town 
of  the  Arkansas,  which  was  situated  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river  of  that  name,  they  saw  two  canoes  approaching  them 
filled  with  warriors;  but  as  the  chief  who  seemed  to  be  in 
command  stood  up  and  presented  the  calumet,  they  did  not 
feel  any  apprehension.  On  coming  near,  this  chief  sang  an 
agreeable  song,  at  the  same  time  presenting  the  calumet  to 
the  white  men  to  smoke;  after  which  he  gave  them  a  dish 
of  sagamity  and  some  bread  made  of  Indian  meal.  After 
they  had  eaten  a  little  he  set  off  in  the  direction  of  the  vil- 
lage, making  signs  for  them  to  follow.  As  they  approached 

401 

23 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

the  town  they  saw  the  whole  shore  lined  with  a  great  con- 
course of  men,  women  and  children,  whose  curiosity  had 
brought  them  out  of  their  houses  to  see  the  wonderful  white 
men  and  their  still  more  wonderful  canoes. 

On  landing,  the  travelers  were  taken  at  once  to  the  house 
of  the  great  war-chief,  where  a  place  had  been  prepared  for 
their  reception.  This  was  a  space  under  a  large  scaffold, 
where  the  chief  slept,  carpeted  with  fine  rush  mats,  on  which 
they  were  requested  to  sit.  Having  done  so,  the  sachems 
likewise  seated  themselves  in  a  circle  around  them,  the  war- 
riors occupying  another  circle  still  further  out,  while  beyond 
these  the  people  stood  in  wondering  silence.  Fortunately, 
it  so  happened  that  one  of  the  young  men  understood  the 
Illinois  language,  and  through  him  Marquette  was  able  to 
address  the  assembly.  k  "  They  admired  what  I  told  them  of 
God,"  he  says,  "  and  the  mysteries  of  our  holy  faith,  and 
showed  a  great  desire  to  keep  me  with  them  to  instruct 
them." 

When  he  asked  if  they  knew  anything  about  the  sea, 
they  replied  that  their  village  was  only  ten  days'  journey 
from  it;  but  that  they  did  not  know  the  nations  who  in- 
habited the  coast,  because  their  enemies  would  not  let  them 
go  in  that  direction.  They  explained  that  the  hatchets, 
knives,  and  beads  which  they  possessed  were  sold  to  them, 
partly  by  nations  toward  the  east,  and  partly  by  some  Illi- 
nois who  lived  four  days'  journey  toward  the  west.  They 
said  that  the  Indians  with  guns,  whom  the  travelers  had 

402 


CONTINUING  DOWN  THE  MISSISSIPPI 

met  further  up  the  river,  were  the  common  enemies  of  all 
the  other  nations ;  and  it  was  they  who  prevented  them  from 
going  to  the  sea  to  trade  with  the  white  men  who  came  every 
year  in  their  great  canoes  for  that  purpose. 

On  learning  that  it  was  the  wish  of  the  strangers  to  pur- 
sue their  course  to  the  sea,  they  earnestly  expostulated  with 
them,  declaring  that  they  would  encounter  very  great 
dangers  during  the  remainder  of  the  trip.  War  parties  of 
hostile  tribes  were  constantly  visiting  the  river,  and  they 
would  assuredly  fall  victims  to  some  of  these  if  they  at- 
tempted to  go  forward. 

During  the  whole  of  this  audience  they  were  constantly 
presented  with  dishes  of  sagamity,  corn  roasted  in  the  ear, 
and  pieces  of  dog's-flesh;  indeed,  the  entire  day  was  spent 
in  feasting  and  counseling  together. 

These  Indians,  said  the  father,  were  very  courteous  and 
liberal  of  what  they  had ;  but  they  were  poorly  off  for  food, 
not  daring  to  hunt  the  buffalo  for  fear  of  their  enemies. 
"  It  is  true  they  have  Indian  corn  in  abundance,  which  they 
sow  at  all  seasons;  we  saw  some  ripe,  more  just  sprouting, 
and  more  just  in  the  ear,  so  that  they  sow  three  crops  a  year. 
They  cook  it  in  large  earthen  pots,  which  are  very  well 
made;  they  have  also  plates  of  baked  earth,  which  they  em- 

/ 

ploy  for  various  purposes.  The  men  go  naked,  and  wear 
their  hair  short;  they  have  the  nose  and  ears  pierced,  and 
beads  hanging  from  them.  The  women  are  dressed  in 
wretched  skins ;  they  braid  their  hair  in  two  plaits,  which  fall 

403 


LOUISIANA    TERRITORY 

behind  their  ears;  they  have  no  ornaments  to  decorate  their 
persons.  Their  banquets  are  without  any  ceremonies;  they 
serve  their  meat  in  large  dishes,  and  every  one  eats  as  much 
as  he  pleases,  and  they  give  the  rest  to  one  another.  Their 
language  is  extremely  difficult,  and  with  all  my  efforts  I 
could  not  succeed  in  pronouncing  some  words.  Their  cabins, 
which  are  long  and  wide,  are  made  of  bark;  they  sleep  at 
the  two  extremities,  which  are  raised  about  two  feet  from 
the  ground.  They  keep  their  corn  in  large  baskets,  made 
of  cane,  or  in  gourds,  as  large  as  half-barrels.  They  do  not 
know  what  a  beaver  is;  their  riches  consist  in  the  hides  of 
wild  cattle.  They  never  see  snow,  and  know  the  winter  only 
by  the  rain  which  falls  oftener  than  in  the  summer.  We 
eat  no  fruit  there  but  watermelons;  if  they  knew  how  to 
cultivate  their  ground -they  might  have  plenty  of  all  kinds." 

The  father's  reference  to  gourds  the  size  of  half  a  barrel 
may  seem  extravagant  to  some,  but  there  is  a  special  variety 
of  gourd  still  grown  in  portions  of  the  Mississippi  Valley 
which  reaches  that  size ;  and  they  can  be  seen  on  many  farms 
in  Arkansas,  Missouri,  Illinois  and  other  States  that  have 
been  carved  out  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase. 

It  is  claimed  by  some  that  watermelons  originated  in 
Persia,  and  by  others  in  Africa;  but  if  that  be  true  how 
did  it  happen  that  the  Indians  had  grown  them  for  centuries 
before  Columbus  discovered  America?  The  only  way  in 
which  we  can  master  these  difficult  problems  is  to  admit  that 
certain  products  are  indigenous  to  all  countries,  among 

404 


CONTINUING  DOWN  THE  MISSISSIPPI 

which  the  melon  is  not  an  exception.  Some  writers  assert, 
however,  that  the  melons  of  the  ancient  nations  of  Europe 
and  Asia  were  nothing  but  pumpkins,  or  squashes,  and  that 
no  one  ever  saw  a  true  watermelon  until  after  the  discov- 
ery of  America.  Nevertheless  it  is  said  that  the  Em- 
peror Tiberius  was  so  fond  of  watermelons  that  he  had 
them  grown  for  his  use  all  the  year  round,  heating  the 
earth  in  winter  by  means  of  stoves,  because  the  Romans  of 
that  date  had  not  learned  the  use  of  forcing-houses.  There 
is  a  story  also  about  Frederick  the  Great  being  so  fond  of 
watermelons  that  he  ate  three  or  four  every  morning  before 
breakfast,  and  on  being  remonstrated  with  by  his  physician, 
replied  that  he  would  send  him  some  of  the  melons  for  his 
own  table  the  next  morning! 

The  Indians  made  a  delicious  wine  of  the  pulp  of  the 
watermelon,  in  the  following  manner:  When  the  fruit  was 
nearly  ripe,  a  hole  was  cut  through  the  rind  into  the  pulp, 
so  as  to  admit  a  small  amount  of  air  and  produce  fermen- 
tation; the  hole  was  then  stopped  with  wax,  and  the  melon 
left  on  the  vine.  In  the  course  of  a  few  days  the  entire 
pulp  was  converted  into  a  liquor  which  the  savages  esteemed 
as  highly  as  the  best  of  wine.  At  least  this  is  what  some 
writers  have  said. 

Notwithstanding  the  friendly  disposition  manifested  by 
the  Arkansas,  some  of  the  sachems  held  a  council  during 
the  night  and  proposed  to  kill  the  travelers  and  appropriate 
their  goods;  but  as  soon  as  the  head  chief  was  told  of  this 

405 


LOUISIANA   TERRITORY 

vile  purpose  he  broke  up  their  meeting,  and  sending  for 
the  Frenchmen  he  danced  the  calumet  in  their  presence,  as 
an  assurance  that  they  should  not  be  harmed. 

The  two  leaders  now  held  a  council  to  determine  whether 
they  should  risk  the  dangers  of  going  on  to  the  sea,  or 
return  to  New  France  and  report  their  discoveries.  They 
had  gone  far  enough  to  convince  themselves  that  the  Mis- 
sissippi emptied  into  the  Gulf 'of  Mexico,  and  not  into  the 
sea  near  Virginia,  as  had  been  supposed.  Nor  was  it  pos- 
sible for  the  river  to  diverge  toward  the  west,  so  as  to  find 
its  way  into  the  Gulf  of  California,  as  others  contended. 
They  considered,  moreover,  that  by  going  forward  they  not 
only  risked  being  killed  by  predatory  bands  of  savages,  but 
they  might  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards,  and  thus 
be  prevented  from  publishing  their  discoveries.  They  had 
demonstrated  what  they  had  set  out  to  do,  namely,  to  prove 
the  course  of  the  river  to  its  mouth ;  and  they  decided  there- 
fore to  return  and  make  their  report  to  the  French  governor. 
So,  in  the  language  of  the  father,  "  after  having  published 
the  gospel  as  well  as  I  could  to  the  nations  I  had  met,  we 
left  the  village  of  Akamsea  on  the  I7th  of  July  (1673),  to 
retrace  our  steps." 

Their  return  was  much  more  laborious  than  their  progress 
down-stream  had  been;  but  their  light  canoes  were  capable 
of  being  paddled  against  the  current  at  the  rate  of  about  four 
miles  per  hour,  so  that  by  the  latter  part  of  September  they 
found  themselves  once  more  in  the  Bay  of  the  Fetid,  having 

406 


CONTINUING  DOWN  THE  MISSISSIPPI 

in  the  course  of  four  months  traveled  a  distance  of  nearly 
twenty-eight  hundred  miles,  in  open  canoes,  through  a  per- 
fectly wild  and  savage  country.  Not  in  all  the  history  of 
the  world  can  we  find  the  record  of  another  journey  like  this, 
and  the  fame  of  these  travelers  will  always  remain  dear  to 
the  people  of  America. 

On  their  return  they  discovered  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois, 
and  finding  its  course  more  direct  and  its  current  less  rapid 
than  the  Wisconsin,  they  followed  it  to  the  portage  near  the 
Chicago  river,  and  so  passed  into  Lake  Michigan  where  the 
city  of  Chicago  now  stands.  Thence  they  made  their  way 
to  Green  Bay,  by  coasting  along  the  west  shore  of  the  lake. 

Marquette  now  returned  to  the  mission  at  Mackinaw, 
while  M.  Joliet  set  out  for  Fort  Frontenac  to  report  the 
results  of  their  discoveries. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ''AJTFORNIA 
t 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


QL    OCT  17  1994 
RECEIVED 

APR  1  8  1994 


JUN  1  6  1994 


QL  APR  1 


RECEIVED 

MAR  1  3  1996 


OCT  i  o  2003 


OCT  3  f;  i(\\ 


UNIVERSITY  of  CALIFORNIA 

AT 

LOS  ANGELES 
LIBRARY 


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F569 
B86  1 
v.l 


A     000165970     5 


